Dear Diary
by JustAHumbleWriter
Summary: A/U. Based on a Finchel prompt. Quarterback, Finn Hudson finds a mysterious diary at school and his curiosity gets the better of him... Meanwhile, lonely diva Rachel Berry has lost one of the most precious things in her life... Rated T for safety.
1. Chapter 1

**Note: **_Ok, so I saw this on the finchel-prompts Tumblr blog and something inside me just went crazy, and I cooked this up this morning. I have no idea how it happened; it just came together. I'm just trying it out but if I get enough good reviews, I might keep going. I have no idea where I'd go with it though. Hahaha Tell me what you think._

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><p>Coach had been working them hard today. The sweat seemed to drip and evaporate off his skin within seconds. His jersey was soaked, and he could feel the jockstrap riding up his backside like a mother-.<p>

"Hudson!" came a voice from behind. Finn turned and looked as a well-built, slightly tanned guy with a mohawk came running over to him.

"Puck" Finn nodded to him as they made their way back to the changing rooms.

"You coming to watch the game at mine later?" he questioned, looking at up at the lanky quarterback.

"Yeah sure" Finn muttered. He swung his helmet by his side as Puck just nodded. Finn looked up and watched as the barrage of red jerseys in front, disappeared off to the changing rooms. Puck grabbed his arm then, as if he'd just remembered something.

"Ah, dude! We've got to get back quick; I stuffed a stink bomb in Karofsky's locker! I want to see his face when it goes off!" Puck made to run towards the other end of the field, Finn kept his pace.

"I'll catch up dude" he nodded as Puck turned and belted it towards the school.

Finn looked around again, this time, taking in all of the field and the bleachers. He stopped then, and something drew him to the bleachers on the far left of the field. He knew it didn't matter how late he was; he'd just tell his mom that practice ran late. He wandered over to the bleachers and clambered up. His eyes were immediately drawn to a small pink notebook that lay on one of the higher benches. Curiosity got the better of him as he picked it up and judged the cover. It was a self-made cover, littered with gold stars and glitter. Some of it got on his hands, and he had to wipe it off on his jersey. The words on the front read "My Journal" written in beautiful gold script. His curiosity sparked further and he went to open it...

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><p>She searched frantically through her backpack, furiously trying to find it.<p>

_Where is it? WHERE IS IT? _She thought, immeasurable panic rising in her. After finding nothing, she rushed towards her locker as the bell for her final class rang.

_Spanish can wait. This is important. _She thought as she opened up her locker and rummaged through it. _Nothing. _No sign of her pink journal which held all of her closest secrets. She felt like she could cry right there and then, but the reminder that she was late for Spanish class helped her fight it. She knew she'd brought it with her to school today; she just had no idea where it was.

As she entered the classroom the curly-haired, rather attractive-looking Mr. Schuester had just been describing Spanish verbs. He looked towards the door where her tiny brunette self, stood.

"Rachel" he said, a tone of surprise in his voice. "You're late?" he questioned more than stated.

"Yes. I'm sorry" she squeaked out, before taking her seat near the back of the class. She still felt like she could cry, but she knew her resolve would rebuild itself soon. As she rummaged through her bag to remove her paper and pen, a part of her still thought she might find the pink journal somewhere. But of course, she didn't and was content to sit, miserably, as she listened to Mr. Schue's lecture.

It struck her, though, during her routine after-school dance-class; she remembered going out to the football field during lunch after practically running from that horrid cheerleader _Quinn Fabray._ She had written in her diary then. A bubble of hope crept up as she finished her class. She would go tomorrow, before class, and pick it up before too many people turned up.

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><p>He had been interrupted by the shouts of Coach Tanaka, who had wheeled by on his golf cart.<p>

"Hudson. Changing rooms. Now" he boomed. Finn jerked up quickly, pulling the journal behind his back.

"Y-yes coach!" he stammered, gulping hard. As the coach drove off he stuffed the journal in his jersey and ran back down the bleachers. He didn't know what had possessed him to take it, but his curiosity had got the better of him.

After getting changed and hearing coach Tanaka's plays for their game next Saturday, Finn had managed to smuggle the pink diary in his school bag, and was about to head out of the changing rooms and out to his truck when he was stopped by Puck.

"Dude" he put his hand on Finn's shoulder. "You still coming round later?" Puck asked nonchalantly. Finn shook his head.

"Nah, sorry dude. Change of plan" Puck didn't seem too put down.

"Not a problem dude. I was going to bring Santana Lopez over anyway" he smirked as he went back to his locker, while Finn marched out of the door to his truck.

At home, he greeted his mom, grabbed a pack of potato chips and ran up the stairs to his closet bedroom with cowboy paper on the walls. But, rather than start up the Xbox like he usually did after school, he rummaged through his school bag, picked out the pink diary and hopped onto his bed. It wasn't until he was inside the confined space of his bedroom that he smelt the scent wafting off of the pages. He sniffed it lightly and his nostrils were immediately greeted with the scent of..._berries? _He thought as he slowly turned the cover and opened up to the first page. It was blank white paper with the words 'My Journal' repeated in large pink writing. He'd hoped, perhaps, that the owner of the diary had written their name in it, but no such luck. _Maybe they say their name later. _He thought as he flicked to the next page.

Finn wasn't a big fan of reading. In fact, he thought he hadn't read a book all the way through since kindergarten. But for some reason, he was so curious about this particular 'book' that he couldn't stop himself as he began to read the first entry, which was written in the same elegant script as the front cover.

_December 18__th__ 2009_

_Dear diary,_

_I suppose I should give you a name now that I'm going to be writing in you for the next, however many months. I think I'll call you Barbara. After my idol, obviously._

_So Barbara. You are my birthday gift from my daddy. I would have much preferred new dance shoes, or something, but he insisted that every teenage girl needs a diary. I would have to disagree, but I'll humour him.  
>So how has my day been? Well we had a nice big meal that my dad prepared, and then we had a delicious vegan birthday cake followed by a round of musical-themed trivial pursuit. It was lovely. Now I'm going to go to bed; school tomorrow.<em>

The entry stopped there and Finn smirked to himself. He had no idea who this girl was, but she was obviously a very girly girl. He was about to carry on reading, but the sound of his mom entering his room caused him to leap off the bed with a start, throwing the pink diary under his bed on instinct.

"Finn, honey" she chimed, not obvious to his flustered nature. "Your dinner is on the side; just stick it in the microwave for 3 minutes. I'll be back late" she reached out and gave him a kiss on the head.

"Ok. Bye mom" he murmured as she left. He was going to reach down and read more of the diary, but his grumbling stomach told him otherwise. He didn't touch it for the rest of the night.

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><p>The next morning, she left for school early, rushing haphazardly through the doors of William McKinley High School. She headed straight for the school playing field. Rushing towards the bleachers on the left of the field, she hopped up each step to the seat she had been sitting on at the top. Her heart sank as she surveyed the benches; no sign of her pretty-pink journal. She bent down and looked underneath to try and see if it had fallen; no such luck. She huffed in part annoyance, part sadness, before sinking onto the bench. It was then, with no one around and several minutes before class, that she let the tears flow.<p>

As she made her way back into the school, she passed a couple of the football players close to the changing rooms, causing the smell of sweat to fill her nostrils, making her wince slightly. Then, as she made her way towards her locker, a different scent filled her nose. It smelt like cologne. _What high school boy wears cologne? _She thought as she looked up. She had to hold back a gasp as she noticed who it was. He was walking side by side with the guy with the mohawk that Rachel knew was the biggest man-whore in the school. But she couldn't pay attention as she glared at the tall boy walking towards her.  
>The first time she'd seen him was just walking through the school corridors near the beginning of the sophomore year. Something inside her forced her heart to skip a beat as she watched him and it had done ever since. She'd noticed he was wearing a letterman jacket and she'd soon learnt that he was quarterback of the school football team. But that was about all she knew about him. Well that and the fact that she thought he was adorably cute. But of course his reputation as a big-shot football player meant he barely even noticed Rachel "RuPaul" Berry. She looked back down at the floor as they passed one another, and she glanced up quickly to see if he looked back at her; he didn't. She sighed heavily as she made her way to her locker. Nothing went well for Rachel Berry.<p>

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><p>He had spent most of the morning thinking about the diary. A part of him wanted to bring it to school that day, but he knew that, if Puck or one of the other guys caught him with it, he would be forever ridiculed, thinking it was his. The thought made him cringe. Instead, he thought about who had written the diary. He was so curious it was kind of driving him insane. That morning, as he sat through his first class, he decided that he would try and find out the identity of the mysterious <em>Diary Girl <em>as he put it. _It'd be like a super top secret mission. _He smirked at himself.

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><p>She was still devastated as she sat through her math class. She had poured her heart and soul into that journal, and now she had lost it. It was now probably in the hands of some dastardly cheerleader who was just lying in wait to use it against her. She had some luck though. Rachel was a top-mark student, so she certainly wasn't stupid. She had made the decision, right before writing in the diary, to never sign her name after each entry. Instead, she used a gold star, which was a metaphor, for her being a star. That gave her some relief. The only people who knew about her gold star obsession were her dads. So if someone did have her diary, they knew all of her deepest and darkest secrets as well as every emotional trauma she's ever been through...but they didn't know whose secrets and whose trauma it was. She sighed as she stared up at the whiteboard where the teacher was dictating some of the most simplistic mathematics that she had ever seen. Then, rather out of the blue, there was a knock on the door. A boy opened it, and Rachel's mouth nearly fell at the sight of him. <em>Him again. <em>She thought, staring up at the Quarterback.

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><p>He cursed as he stood outside of the science class, his bag hung loosely over his shoulder. He was at the front of the long line of students lined up at the door, when Principal Figgins came running over, followed shortly by their science teacher, Mr. Allen.<p>

"What is going on here?" Figgins demanded in his thick Indian accent, staring at Finn.

"Uh. Um" Finn stuttered.

"Some idiot left the gas taps on!" Someone shouted from behind him; it was Santana Lopez, who was admiring her own nails. Finn turned to Figgins and nodded stupidly. Figgins sighed heavily.

"Ok. I want you all to make your way to my office, Mrs. Denny-Brown will sort you out new classes for today" Everyone behind Finn groaned as Figgins raised his hands. "No complaints. Go!" he shouted, forcing Finn and the rest of the class to the Principals office.

After what had seemed like hours waiting in queue, Finn had finally been given his replacement class; Math. He groaned audibly as he skulked towards the math classroom. He hated math. He tapped tentatively on the door and opened it up to see Mrs. Halberg giving a speech about something Finn was sure he wouldn't understand.

"Uh, excuse me, Mrs. Halberg" he asked nervously. "I've been told to join you for this lesson" Mrs. Halberg gave him a look. "Our science classroom is filled with gas" he explained, as a couple of the kids in the front row sniggered. She sighed and motioned towards one of the desks.

"Take a seat" she groaned as she carried on dictating the math problems. Finn stood awkwardly for a moment, noticing the only seat available was near the back, next to a ridiculously short brunette girl, who seemed to be the only one not looking up at him. He tentatively made his way over and sat beside her, trying not to sit too close. Only now he noticed she was wearing a cat sweater. He had to stifle back a laugh. She was pretty cute too.

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><p>She thought for one moment she might start hyperventilating. He had just turned up in her classroom, completely unexpectedly, and now he was sitting next to her. Part of her thanked whatever idiot left the gas taps on in the science classroom. She tried not to stare at him as he made himself comfortable beside her. She took a couple of glances, trying to pluck up the courage to talk to him, but she never managed it.<p>

"I'm Finn" he said, as he caught one of her glances. She gulped for a second. His voice was so sweet and kind. She could fall asleep to that voice.

"Rachel" she blurted, feeling her face blush heavily.

They sat like that for a while; her feeling ridiculously awkward and him just..._being him. _After a while he leant over towards her and she definitely thought she might have a panic attack right there and then. She froze as he leant his head close to hers, his face still facing the board.

"Do you understand any of this?" he whispered as she became mesmerised at the sight of his beautiful brown hair that seemed like an organised mess. She whimpered audibly, and almost slapped her hand up to her mouth in reaction. Instead, she bolted her mouth closed refusing to open it again. Then he did the worst thing he could have possibly done and turned his face towards her; mere inches away from hers. His face held a look of concern.

"Are you ok?" he asked carefully. She definitely felt her heart skip at least two beats then. She turned to face him, her face still frozen in a permanent blank expression. She spent a moment staring at his face. _His beautiful face. With his adorable hazel eyes, his big-ol' nose, his almost unbearably kissable lips, his cute constellation of freckles on his cheeks and the fine layer of fur that graced his chin. _She swallowed hard, trying to bring herself back to reality.

"Um. Yeah I'm fine" She squeaked and turned to the board. "And yes" she said, as he lifted his head up to slump back against his chair again. He looked at her questioningly. "Yes, I do understand it" she explained, nodding, as if to herself, keeping her gaze on the board. She glanced back to see his face stern with concentration.

"Oh well..." he said after a moment "I don't" he seemed embarrassed, but she couldn't say anything in reply as her body had practically seized up with adoration for the tall awkward, not that bright, quarterback sitting next to her.

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><p>She seemed a little bit nervous when he sat down next to her, and he could tell she kept glancing at him, but trying not to make it obvious. He was a little nervous himself at first, so he tried to relieve the tension by introducing himself. She responded, which was more than he was expecting. <em>Rachel, huh? <em>He thought. _That's a nice name._

As the lesson drew on, he had no clue what Mrs. Halberg was talking about. He sat, wide eyed and thoroughly flummoxed by every word that spilled out of her mouth. He turned to glance at Rachel, who still seemed really uncomfortable next to him. _Do I smell? _He thought, but he shrugged it off, remembering he'd put on cologne this morning. _Maybe she didn't like that? _He tried to focus on the math, but still couldn't figure it out in his head. So, taking a chance, he leant down to whisper to the tiny brunette sitting next to him.

When he spoke the first time, she didn't reply, and he could have sworn he heard her make a puppy-dog whimper. He turned to look at her, suddenly realising his face was inches from hers. He didn't draw back though. She looked so pretty. She had these big brown eyes and lips that would be amazing to kiss. He was concerned though; she looked practically terrified.

When he had asked her what was wrong, she took a moment before answering. When she did, she turned her head then, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He was worried he might have creeped her out, leaning in so close, but he knew Mrs. Halberg would go mad if he started talking loudly in class. As he slumped back against his chair, he heard her mutter something that he didn't quite catch. He looked at her, trying to enunciate his question with a look. She seemed to get it because she replied; she did understand all this complicated math. He felt a little embarrassed as she said it. _Of course she'd understand it. _He thought to himself. _I bet she's like really smart. _The voice in his head seemed snappy, and he didn't like it. He mumbled a bit, finding himself being strangely honest as he admitted that he didn't understand it. He had no idea why he was telling this to this girl; this girl he actually knew nothing about, other than her name and the fact she seemed to like sweaters with cats on them.

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><p><strong>P.S: <strong>_I think, if I were to carry this on, I'd keep Finn and Rachel separate; it's easier to write the two of them in different places, rather than writing the thought process for the exact same situation, twice. As for the plot, I'm sure it'll get interesting. Reviews if you wanna see more!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: **_Due to insistence from quite a lot of reviews, story alerts and favourites, I've decided to carry on this story. Just be warned, I'm going to have fun with this but I have no idea where to take it, so bare with me._

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><p>She had resolved herself not to get too worked up over her missing journal. As she sat at home, tapping away at her laptop, uploading her most recent MySpace video, she silently scolded herself for getting so sad about it. <em>It's just a journal. <em>She thought. _Just because someone might have it, and can read all my own personal feelings, and see things that really shouldn't be seen by anyone but me..._ her mind trailed off as the video finished uploading. Within minutes, a flurry of comments appeared on the page, and her initial excitement dropped as she read them. Again, the cheerleaders were ridiculing her videos; posting comments insisting she 'Go back to the Shire', 'Have a nose job' and 'Put a sock in it'. She didn't even know why they did this to her. It made her feel awful. She slammed the laptop shut and collapsed onto her bed. Sniffling into her pillow she let her mind wander to nicer things. Things like that nice Finn boy who sat next to her in math today.

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><p>He raced home and ran up the stairs, ignoring his mom. Dumping his bag in the corner of his room, he immediately reached under the bed for the diary. For some weird reason, the little pink diary had been on his mind all day. His hands found it quickly, and he made himself comfortable on the bed, adamant that he'd read a couple of extra entries today. Opening up at the first couple of pages, he began to read.<p>

_December 24__th__ 2009_

_Dear Barbara,_

_Well it's Christmas Eve. If it weren't for me being Jewish, I'd be hoping for some wonderful gifts this year. Instead though, we're going to spend our Christmas day doing the usual thing and ordering in Chinese. But I have decided to try and give back this year; so I'm going to bake some of my dad's homemade sugar cookies and hand them out at the soup kitchen tomorrow afternoon. I'd like to help the homeless. They'll appreciate my culinary skills, I'm sure of it._

_Now time to watch 'Funny Girl' and drink some herbal tea._

_Night x_

Finn smiled broadly. Something about this mysterious _Diary Girl _made him want to laugh out loud. He'd noticed that after each entry, rather than sign a name, the _Diary Girl _had stuck a gold star sticker. It was endearing, and strangely cute. He carried on reading.

_December 25__th__ 2009_

_Dear Barbara,_

_Guess what? My daddy totally bought me something for Christmas! Ok, so it was just a new laptop, but still! I'm so happy!_

_I didn't get a chance to bake the sugar cookies though; we went out for dinner at Breadstix this year. The vegan meatballs were ok. It was lovely. I thought I saw some people from school there too. Not that they noticed. I think they were from the popular group. Cheerleaders and whatnot._

_Night x_

His heart felt a sudden tug as he read the last line. He was beginning to feel sorry for this _Diary girl_. The first couple of entries seemed rather bubbly, but she seemed pretty sad when it came to talking about people from school. _Maybe this girl isn't very popular. _He thought. That would explain the fact that she kept a diary. No one he knew kept a diary; and he had a popular circle of friends. He seriously wanted to try and find this girl, but part of him still wanted to learn more about her. So he read on, skipping to New Years in hopes of seeing something interesting.

_Januray 1__st__ 2010_

_Dear Barbara,_

_New Year. New start. My new year's resolutions are as follows;_

_1. To work harder towards my inevitable stardom  
>2. <em>_Be less demanding  
>3. <em>_To eat healthier _

_Also, if New Year's require wishes as well, I want some diamond earrings, a kitten, to meet Barbara Streisand, and a boyfriend. Thank You._

_xx_

He furrowed his brow at the last thing on her wish list. So she was single? Or at least she was at the beginning of the year. Then again, she did seem particularly unpopular. This gave him another clue towards finding the mysterious _Diary Girl; _She's single and unpopular. That narrows it down to about...half the students of McKinley High. He sighed.

He had no idea why he cared so much but he kept reading, the thought of her, maybe getting herself a boyfriend, tossling about in his head. He flicked through a couple of pages quickly, skipping a few entries where the only sentences said "_ate at Breadstix", "had my nails done" _etc. He eventually reached one for the first day back at school after Christmas. It was long, and he delved straight in.

_January 11__th__ 2010_

_Dear Barbara,_

_Well how can I possibly explain how my day was? Put it simply; it was dreadful._

_I woke up feeling refreshed and ready for school, and I was eager to get started with this 'new' year. But of course, I turned up at school, wearing the most adorable outfit I think I've ever worn, and was met almost instantly with rebuke.  
>First it was the cheerleaders; for the sake of anonymity, we'll use code names for the cheerleaders. So, anyway, that awful 'Satan' and her little friend 'ditzy' were both downright rude about my outfit. Homeschooled? I mean, really? Is that the best they can come up with? I'm so glad I don't share any classes with either of them. Bunch of meanies...<em>

Finn had a feeling he knew who she was talking about, and it kind of hurt a little bit, knowing he was, in fact, 'friends' with some of those exact cheerleaders. He carried on...

_And then there were the slushies. I will admit, Barbara, that I do enjoy the odd slushie as a light refreshment on occasion, though the prospect of the amount of calories in each one is somewhat daunting. But to have one thrown in your face? That is something I will never truly get used to. It's happened before, yes. Several times in fact. I've taken to keeping an extra set of clothes in my locker for just the occasion. But still, each time that horrific flavoured ice gets flung at you; it feels like a part of me is torn down with it. Especially when the person flinging the slushie holds no remorse whatsoever. Not to mention, it gets everywhere. On more than one occasion I've found a pool of melted ice in my bra._

Despite being somewhat disheartened by the _Diary Girl's _slushie story_, _Finn's male hormones couldn't help but take over at the thought of this girls' bra; and having ice in it. He shifted his position on his bed, before reading on.

_So, of course, I had to change my top in the girls lavatory before my first class, which is not particularly the most comforting thing. I was really quite upset, especially when I had spent so much time preparing that outfit. Instead I had to make do with a pink blouse. So I started English class in pretty much the foulest mood._

_I was a little relieved though, as I got to sit next to this rather lovely Asian girl. I'll admit, her wardrobe left something to be desired, but she seemed nice. 'Gothika' was particularly helpful in explaining to me what we had to do. Not that I didn't already know, but it was nice to chat to someone who actually seemed concerned. Her stutter was a tad distracting, but otherwise she was nice._

_So yes, the day went by pretty smooth from then on. I saw 'Gothika' several more times after that, but we only exchanged glances. And there I was, thinking I'd finally made a friend. Oh well..._

_Time for bed now Barbara. Another disappointing day tomorrow._

_Night x_

Finn gulped as he felt a lump appear in his throat. He had no idea who this girl was, but he was definitely starting to feel sorry for her. She just seemed so _sad_. He had initially thought that this was just one of those diaries that people got, used for a couple of days, writing in stupid little anecdotes about their day, before quickly forgetting about. But after flicking through the book, he could see almost half the pages had been written in, with almost excruciating detail in some of the entries. And the school year had barely even started. He was far too curious to put the diary down now, so he continued through to the next longest entry and read through it...

_January 20__th__ 2010_

_Dear Barbara,_

_Today was a lot better. Ok, so Satan and Ditzy still made fun of my pantsuit, but I still insist that it's a lovely outfit. And I swear I got a judgemental scowl from that effeminate guy in my Geography class. I hear he likes Wicked, so I think we'll name him 'Glinda'. (Obviously, I'd be Elphaba) But I don't speak to him that much. Only every now and then when we rub shoulders in class. He seems much more interested in doodling in his notebook._

_Anyway, I digress. So, I made it all the way to lunch without a slushie, and I was simply elated. My daddy had packed a nice lunch, and, feeling a little adventurous, I decided to go outside to eat it. The library was always so stuffy and it smelt funny. But rather than hang around where the crowds were (to avoid attracting unwanted attention to myself) I went up to the football field, and sat on the bleachers. Lunch was lovely; a tofu tortilla with lettuce and tomato and a nice juicy apple. I was just enjoying my apple when I saw those Neanderthal football players come storming onto the field. I never understood why any of those popular cheerleaders like the football players. Half of them are wider than they are tall, and they all seem to share a brain cell..._

Finn couldn't help but feel suddenly very offended by the _Diary Girl's _remark. He wasn't that fat...and he did have more than one brain cell. He thought...

_Of course, I tried my best to get away as quickly as I could. One thing I could not stand is being ridiculed by that pretentious bunch of meatheads. No, I won't associate with bullies.  
>Instead, I returned to the library, where I enjoyed some light entertainment in the form of some of the celebrity biographies. I had planned to read them all, but having such a busy schedule means I can only manage one or two a week. I believe Patti LuPone is on my list next. I should look that up.<em>

_So that was my day. It went rather smoothly, all things considered. Though I think I will avoid the pantsuit next time._

_Night night Barbara x_

Finn pondered as he closed the book and rapped his fingers on the cover thoughtfully. His intrigue was slowly growing, and he now had a better clue to help him find out the identity of the mysterious _Diary Girl. _She hung out in the library most lunchtimes and she often was teased by 'Satan' and 'Ditzy'. He didn't know who 'Ditzy' was, but he could take an educated guess at who 'Satan' was. Of course, he couldn't go to her, asking about this girl. For one, she'd probably tear him a new one about reading some girls diary, and if he ever did find out who the _Diary Girl_ was, 'Satan' would probably rip her a new one too. Or worse. He shook his head at the thought. He'd have to do his own investigating, and the prospect of doing so excited him a little bit. He nodded to himself, as if confirming his own thoughts; he would go to the library tomorrow at lunch and search out this girl. He had to know who she was.

* * *

><p>Still mourning her loss, and still somehow expecting it to magically turn up, Rachel filtered her way through the numerous students making their way to lunch. She had received a number of soul-crushing insults from some of the cheerleaders this morning, the most hurtful one being 'shemale'. She really hated that cheerleading captain. If she didn't have such popular, or simply terrifying friends, Rachel would scratch her eyes out and pull out all that pretty blonde hair. She huffed and lifted her head at the thought. <em>No. Rachel Berry was bigger than that. She was not a fighter. At least not physically. <em>

She manoeuvred her way through the crowds, her lunch rattling in her bag as she made her way towards the library. Stepping in and wafting in the familiar scent, she made her way over to her usual spot in the corner; a desk designed for students wanting privacy. There was supposed to be a no eating rule in the library, but no one ever obeyed it. The real rule was all about keeping quiet. And Rachel was good at that. At least out loud. Her mind had different ideas.

She had math again today, and a part of her wished that Finn would be back in their class. Of course she knew he wouldn't be, but she could still hope. She was a tad relieved to discover that the quarterback was, in fact, a sophomore, and so not entirely out her league. Though he being a quarterback and one of the more popular students meant he was still far above her on the high school 'food chain'. She was sure he only spoke to her because he wanted to make use of her academic skills anyway. At least that was the excuse she used. Despite how adorably embarrassed he seemed.

She sighed to herself as she set up her lunch and began nibbling at the petite sandwich she had prepared that morning. She skimmed over some of the gossip magazine on the table, laughing at the number of _"_Him_ and _Her_ finally together!" _and_ "Couple officially dating"_ articles.

* * *

><p>He had just managed to slither his way out of class before Puck could catch him, and he practically bolted for the library. He'd actually only ever been in the library once, that he could remember, and he seemed to recall that he had been banned subsequently after that one visit. <em>Probably Puck's fault, <em>he thought as he turned up at the door. He had no idea why he seemed so nervous, but the prospect of seeing this mysterious _Diary Girl, _seemed to get him all riled up. He hadn't even considered what he'd say. Entering the library he let out a heavy sigh as he began his search, carefully looking between each bookcase, judging each person there, the pink diary currently residing in his backpack.

He became suddenly very worried as he surveyed the possible _'diary girls'. _All seemed to be wearing the same thing; shirts or sweaters and long skirts, or dresses designed for primary school teachers. They were all a world away from what Finn was used to, and the prospect of going up to one of these girls and saying _"Hi, I'm Finn. I found your diary. Here. I did read some of it by the way"_ suddenly felt like the most terrifying thing he could ever do, and he had once stared down a 250 pound left tackle.  
>He noticed several dudes amongst the bookshelves, but he had long since eliminated the possibility of the diary belonging to a guy; even an effeminate one. No, Finn was quietly confident that the author was a girl.<p>

It was then that he spotted her; a girl sitting alone on a table, skimming through some magazines. She was wearing similar clothes to everyone else in the library, but she seemed at least slightly better looking than the others. _It couldn't help to ask. _He thought as he crept up to the table, quietly trying to convince himself to do this. She didn't move as he approached, so he cleared his throat. She lifted her head and didn't' seem to respond before he spoke;

"You wouldn't happen to keep a diary would you?"

* * *

><p>She had just finished her lunch when a girl came and sat beside her, not speaking a word. Rachel looked up to see it was one of the girls from the AV club. She coughed lightly to try and attract her attention, but the girl didn't move. Rachel continued to look at her for a second, but the girl remained steadfast as she silently skimmed through the magazines. Rachel was used to being ignored, even by the members of the AV club, but this just seemed cold; ignoring someone right beside you. She huffed loudly and stood up, taking her bag and a magazine with her, moving her place over to sit against the celebrity biography section. She turned back once to see the girl was still staring down at her magazine. <em>How rude. <em>Rachel thought, opening the magazine up at the make-up and hair section, trying to memorise what she was reading.

* * *

><p>He didn't quite know how to register it at first. His initial reaction had him gripping his cheek in comfort. His second reaction had him muttering "I'm sorry" to the blonde girl who had now stood up and marched away. He had no idea why she had slapped him, seemingly unprovoked. He had only asked her if she kept a diary. But a part of him took that as a 'no'. He slumped into the seat she had just vacated, and began rubbing his face softly to try and sooth the large red mark that was slowly making its way over his cheek. <em>Jeez, could she slap. <em>He decided to skip going back to Puck and the other football guys, who would only question his red face, and instead opted to slip out the pink diary and do some more reading. He looked around; making sure the coast was clear, before he set the diary on his knees, beneath the table and began to read one of the next bigger entries.

_January 22__nd__ 2010_

_Dear Barbara,_

_Fridays are the worst. _

_So today started out as it normally does. A slushie in the face thanks to one of those Neanderthal football players. I think it was the one with the Mohawk. He would be mildly attractive if he didn't have the personality of a weevil. And of course, a well-time insult from those god-awful cheerleaders. Today, it was that Little Miss Peroxide, the Cheerio's captain. I didn't think mortal enemies existed, but I definitely think 'Barbie' is my mortal enemy. She makes Cruella Deville look like a saint..._

Finn stifled a laugh as he read. He knew who these people were. The guy with the Mohawk was Puck. He knew that for certain; the slushies, the attractiveness, and the personality of a..._What the hell is a weevil? _He knew the 'Barbie' as well. In fact, he probably knew her **too** well. Cheerleading captain. Pretty nasty. That was Quinn. Quinn Fabray. Who so happened to be his girlfriend. He shrugged, checking the coast was clear again, before carrying on.

_...I seriously think that, If I could, I would pull that girl's ponytail straight out of her head. And I do not condone violence Barbara. But she's just so horrid._

_Things did get a little better in the afternoon. I managed to rescue my lipstick from the toilet. I have no idea how they got it, but I managed to get to it before someone flushed it. Thankfully they chose a reasonably clean toilet. As clean as toilets can be anyway._

_I also saw this cute guy today. I know, unusual for me to be talking about guys but, there was just something about him that drew me to him. It was strange. I was walking down the corridor to my locker when I saw him. He was with three of his football buddies. Now I know what you're thinking, and yes, I still think all those horrid football players are Neanderthals, but this one at least seemed partially attractive. And he wasn't throwing slushie's at anyone. So he was better than the rest of them, in my book. I managed to sneak a look before they took too much notice of me. He had this cute face with these almost too gorgeous amber eyes. And he was soooo tall! Like, near enough a foot taller than me. But it's not intimidating. Not really. And he has such a nice smile. He wasn't smiling at me, (why would he?) but he smiled at someone down the hall. And it was adorable.  
>I'm curious Barbara. Maybe I should do some digging and find out who he is.<em>

_Anyways, must dash, dad's ordering Chinese. Speak to you later._

_Xx_

Finn re-read the last paragraph again, trying to let the words sink in._ 'amber eyes'_, '_soooo tall', 'foot taller'. _Finn had a funny feeling that he knew exactly who the _Diary Girl _was referring to. Finn knew he was practically the tallest 16 year old in Lima. Maybe even in Ohio, and he knew for certain that there was no one taller than him in McKinley High. He gulped as he tossed the diary back into his bag.

He couldn't deny it. _Diary Girl_ knew who he was.

And by the looks of things; She _liked _him.

* * *

><p><strong>P.S:<strong> _Tricked you a little there? Hahaha Reviews welcome! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I should update (reasonably) soon. Still not sure what I'm going to do with it, but what the hell. We'll see.  
>Hope you like the nicknames. I might change some of them in the future (Partuicualrly Kurt and Tina's) but so far I like them. It's quite fun!<br>I'm also unsure of how I'm writing Rachel. Is she believable enough? I always assumed, prior to Glee club, Rachel was a bit of a loner. And I'm just guessing what she used to do with her time and what she was like. Constructive criticism is encouraged!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Note:** _Sorry for the long-ish wait. I know you guys are desperate for more! But I had a little writer's block which is still wallowing around a little bit now. I'm not really happy with this chapter, but hey-ho, I thought I needed to supplement you guys before you all go crazy. So here you go._

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><p>Sitting comfortably at the desk, Rachel doodled dreamily in the margin of her textbook. Homeroom wasn't that enjoyable, and she always felt the class was a waste of her very valuable time. It was day four of the week without her journal, and she was no closer to getting over the loss. She didn't feel whole without it; her day was never complete because she never spent that usual hour writing up her activities and feelings from the day. She had become so worked up over the journal that she was starting to become distracted during her lessons. Classes now seemed to go by in a flash as she gazed out the window, or into space. She really needed to get her grip; otherwise all this distraction would affect her grades.<br>She had thought about replacing the journal, but something inside told her it wouldn't be right. Like buying a kitten almost as soon as the old one had died; it wouldn't be fair; you need to mourn your losses. _Oh my god, I'm comparing a book to a kitten!_ She felt stupid, sitting in homeroom and mourning a book. But her feelings were not unfounded; that little pink journal was the closest thing Rachel had to a true friend; it listened to her problems and kept all her deepest and darkest secrets. Only problem was; it couldn't talk back.

* * *

><p>Finn was still no closer to discovering the mysterious <em>Diary Girl. <em>He had failed to find her in the library, and he had since learnt that this _Diary Girl, _may have a thing for him. Unfortunately, that failed to narrow down potentials, as Finn was pretty sure there were a number of girls in his high school that had a thing for him. Or at least he, vainly, thought so. _I am quarterback after all!_

He dug through his locker after first period and was instantly met with the sweet, yet terrifying voice of Quinn Fabray. She tapped her manicured fingernails against the locker doors and stared up at Finn with piercing eyes.

"Hey Finn!" She chimed, stunning him with her dazzling smile.

"Uh, hey Quinn" He was going to be honest; he had almost completely forgotten about his cheerleader girlfriend in the wake of his diary discovery.

"Remember, we've got a date tonight. Christ Crusaders. 5 o'clock. My house" Her voice was sweet, yet demanding, and Finn knew better than to argue with her.

"Sounds great" he said as confidently as he could, shutting his locker and turning towards her.

"Good" She nodded, before strutting off at pace towards her next class. Finn sighed heavily and turned the opposite direction.

Ever since reading the diary, Finn had grown to dislike his girlfriend more and more; the way she treated the mysterious _Diary Girl, _even made Finn slightly ashamed of being called her boyfriend. The way everyone treated her really wasn't right, but it was even worse when you're dating one of the worst offenders.

He entered the class without a second thought on his girlfriend, and instead, he spent the majority of the time daydreaming about the potential candidates for _Diary Girl. _He tried to imagine what he thought she'd look like, or at least what he **wanted **her to look like; she would wear some funky get up that made her look super-hot, but not slutty, at the same time. Something like, a short skirt, and those nice short-sleeved shirt things that girls always wear. She'd have lovely long hair. _Blonde or Brunette? _Finn had no preference really, he dated a blonde, but he found brunette's just as good looking. He hummed to himself as a blurred image of the _Diary Girl _swirled around in his mind.

He was snapped back to reality rather suddenly when his name echoed in his ears. He whirled round to see the whole class staring at him, including a rather furious looking English teacher.

"Finn Hudson?" he shouted again.

"Um uh. Yes, yes I'm here" He stuttered, wiping a slight trace of drool from his chin.

"Can you tell me what exactly I was just talking about?" The teacher glared at Finn from his position at the head of the class, his clenched fists resting on his hips.

"Uh...No. Sorry. I can't" Finn dropped his head as he spoke. He heard the teacher sigh heavily.

"Then I suggest you pull your head out of your ass and listen. Stop dreaming away with the fairies" he said, clearly angry. Finn heard some of the other kids snigger around him. He just slumped forward on his desk, lazily watching as the teacher returned to his lecture, letting the words he was babbling go in one ear and out the other. His mind was still firmly fixed with the blurred image of the _Diary Girl. _He sighed. _Can't wait to get home. _

* * *

><p>She had not had a good day today. Firstly, she had spent most of homeroom doodling in the margin, earning her a certain berating from her homeroom tutor, who thought she <em>"should be better than that". <em>Admittedly, she was right; Rachel Berry never avoided work, but today she was just feeling particularly lethargic and hadn't the motivation to work. It really was like someone had died.  
>And of course, she had spent most of second period trying not to cry following the bombardment of insults she had received from that horrid Santana Lopez. She really did despise that girl. Then lunch was a terror as she was sure Jacob Ben-Israel was stalking her around the library. Now she was sitting in last period, twiddling her thumbs while a sub took their lesson. She knew she wouldn't be learning anything today, so Rachel accepted the inevitable and returned to her daydreaming. Most of it centred on her lost journal, but a strange face often cropped up. A rather handsome face, with freckles, and beautiful hazel eyes. She sighed at the thought of Finn Hudson. She wished she hadn't have developed such a crush on him, but it was inevitable. The boy was cute, and she couldn't quite help it. As she sat there, daydreaming, yet again the class flew by and she only just managed to snap out of her daydream long enough to realise everyone was leaving. She was glad the day was over; she needed some rest.<p>

* * *

><p>Finn repeated the same thing he had done the two days previously; he got home, muttered a quick "Hi" to his mom, ran up the stairs and grabbed the diary. It was annoying how obsessed he was getting, but he really couldn't help it. He had thought about it a lot today and part of him thought perhaps this is how fans of books like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings get when they read the books. He opened the diary up to the next longest entry and began reading.<p>

_January 25__th__ 2010_

_Dear Barbara,_

_Today was really good! I didn't' get slushied at all, Satan was ill and I never even saw Barbie! It was perfect! Well, it almost was. I got a C- in a last-minute test that my geography teacher gave us. But how he expects us to remember all this stuff since we've only just started the syllabus, I really don't know. Not to worry though; stardom doesn't require great geographical skills. As long as my math and English grades are high, I'm not going to worry. I also saw that nice 'Gothika' again today, but we didn't exchange words. She actually seemed a lot quieter than that last time I saw her. Maybe she was taking the 'emo' look seriously?  
>But overall, my day has been lovely. Daddy just brought me up some herbal tea and I'm just about to get to work on my math homework. But first, I want to write something down before I forget...<em>

_I'm not entirely sure how journal writing works, but I'm pretty sure you can write in your dreams as well. So I'm going to. So I had the strangest dream the other night, Barbara. I was in New York, on a stage, belting out this incredible number. There was a full audience there, but I couldn't see them very well. I'm not sure what I was in, but for some reason I was singing some Barbara Streisand. 'Don't Rain on My Parade' if I remember rightly. And I sounded spectacular! If I do say so myself. Now of course, this isn't the first dream I've had where I sing on stage. Oh no, I've had numerous fantasies of myself singing some of the world greatest show tunes to a live audience. But this was different. It had the usual standing ovation at the end, but in this one, I seemed to concentrate on this one boy in the front row. I really don't know why, but my mind seemed to focus on him once I'd finished. I couldn't rightly tell who it was, but he looked really familiar. I think he might go to our school. I'll have to see. It was strange though Barbara. Do you think my mind is trying to tell me something? Is he my boyfriend? Part of me hopes that my partially psychic ability extends to precognition.  
>But...I'm not letting the images of some boy get the better of me. As cute as he seemed and, if true, how lovely that would be, I know better than that; my whole life is planned out to the day, and I don't intend to stray from that. I don't need a boyfriend until I reach my stardom. I don't need anything dragging me down! You got that, Barbara?<em>

_Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go drink my tea and finish my math homework._

_Night x_

Finn furrowed his brow in concentration. She'd had a dream and a part of him thought that the boy she referred to was, in fact, him. He couldn't be sure, but it seemed too much like a coincidence. But, she was yet to find out who he actually was. He re-read the last lines again, concentrating on her insistence that she didn't want a boyfriend to get in the way of her stardom. He admired her for that, even if it was a little weird. But this gave Finn an advantage; another clue to add to his list.

He thought for a second before leaping off the bed and over towards his desk. He grabbed some lined paper and began to write out his 'Clue List';

_Clue List:  
><em>_- Girly girl  
><em>_- Puts a star at the end of each diary entry  
><em>_- Jewish  
><em>_- Vegan (?)  
><em>_- Dresses weirdly  
><em>_- Bullied by the Cheerios (Santana, 'Ditzy' and Quinn)  
><em>_- Got (Gets?) slushied by Puck  
><em>_- Hangs out in the library during lunch  
><em>_- MIGHT not have a boyfriend  
><em>_- Seems to have thing for me_

As he jotted down the last bullet point, he sighed to himself. His clues were building up, but he was still no close to finding out who the mysterious _Diary Girl _was. There was a small part of his conscience that wanted to just flick through the diary and take everything out that might be a clue. But he managed to stave it off; he wanted to work on this properly, and he knew he had to be patient. He had to get to know the girl first before he went rushing around trying to find her. He may not be the smartest kid in school, but Finn knew what he had to do, and once he set his mind to something, nothing could stop him. Not his mother. Not Quinn...

"Quinn!" He shouted, darting his gaze to the clock to see the time. '4:56pm' it read. He shot off his seat quicker than he had intended, tripping over his own feet to fall face-first onto his bed. He picked himself up, shoved the diary under his bed and made for the door. Running down the stairs as fast as his massive feet could carry him, he uttered a quick; "Going to Quinn's mom. See you later" before launching out of the house.

* * *

><p>He made it to Quinn's just in time. As he rapped on the door quickly, slightly out of breath from running up the steps to her front door, he was relieved to see she wasn't too mad as she answered the door.<p>

"Come in!" she said sweetly, smiling up at him. He nodded, trying to catch his breath as he stepped onto the threshold. He took off his coat and hung it up on the rack by the door. Looking around, he noticed the absence of Mrs. Fabray, who was usually about whenever he came round.

"Your mom not here?" he muttered as he followed Quinn into the living room where the television was already blaring some Christian programme. She shook her head, a cheeky smile on her face.

"Nope. Church group. And my father is still at work. So it's just us" she reached out for his hand, tugging him towards her before settling him down on the sofa. She sauntered out to the kitchen and returned shortly after, holding two glasses of bubbling liquid.

"Sparkling cider?" she questioned, holding one out to Finn. He took it tentatively, watching Quinn carefully as she sat beside him, daintily taking a sip from her glass. He ungracefully took a gulp from his own, before settling it on the table in front of him. Quinn was quick to lift the glass and place it back down on top of a coaster, before smiling up at Finn with a strange emotion twinkling in her eyes. Finn just smiled gawkily at her, suddenly feeling really uncomfortable.

He had been dating Quinn for a while, but things were still a little new to him. He liked having a girlfriend, but Quinn was deathly celibate and 2nd base was never an option. The whole reason he started dating her in the first place was because he wanted to get into her pants. Now that seemed like it was never going to happen, he was beginning to regret his decision to date her.

She moved herself close to him, laying a hand on his knee as she kept eye contact on him. Finn glanced down at her hand on his knee, before staring back up into her eyes. He almost felt like he was being hypnotised by them, but he evaded the feeling long enough to speak.

"So, are we going to watch Christ Crusaders?" he motioned his heads towards the TV, where the TV show was playing to itself. Finn hated the show, but he would rather watch that, than look into Quinn's medusa-eyes any longer. At his words, she seemed to snap out of a trance before nodding.

"Yes, of course" she manoeuvred herself next to him, but made no move to snuggle up against him. Finn had noticed that about Quinn; she wasn't much of a cuddler. Instead, Finn usually just sat back and stretched his arm around her shoulder. He didn't do this today. He kept his backside close to the edge of the seat and leant forward to look at the screen.

About halfway through the show, as another commercial break began, she spoke up.

"Is something on your mind Finn?" He looked at her to see her face was almost stone cold. He could sense that something was bothering her so he sat up, trying to avoid any confrontation.

"No. Nothing" that was a downright lie. Because the diary was on his mind right that second, but he would never admit it to her. She'd probably insist on seeing the diary. And then kill whoever it belonged to. Especially considering what the _Diary Girl _said about her. Not that she was wrong.  
>He tried to pull a smile as he looked at Quinn, who still held a deathly glare. He hated not knowing what Quinn was feeling; it was the worst part of their relationship. It was very one-sided. She huffed, before turning back to the TV. Finn could tell this wasn't going to be a good night.<p>

* * *

><p>"<em>I'm not a princess, this ain't a fairy tale. I'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet. Lead her up the stairwell ..." <em>She sang solemnly into the mirror, her hairbrush at her mouth. After the line, she sighed, dropping her head. She wasn't in the mood to sing; she was far too unhappy. She dropped the hairbrush on her dresser and sank down on the bed, her face set in a permanent frown. She wasn't happy at all, and she had no way to vent her unhappiness. No _Barbara _to talk to. She fell back against the sheets, trying to think of something worth doing that would distract her from her depression. Nothing came to mind, so she just tossed and turned on her bed, groaning angrily. She hadn't the energy to even drink her herbal tea that her Dad had brought her. Finally, once she was too tired to move, she crawled into the sheets and closed her eyes, forgetting to shut off the light. Hopefully her dreams would be a little better than her real life was at that point.

* * *

><p>Normally, Finn would be jumping at the chance for some post-Christ Crusaders making out, but today he just wasn't in the mood. As Quinn tried to straddle him on the Fabray's large sofa, and attach her lips to his, Finn couldn't help but resist. She soon picked up on this as she increased the distance between their mouths, looking at him with a hint of disgust.<p>

"Is something wrong Finn? You're not kissing me?" She looked positively irate as she spoke. "Am I not pretty enough? Do I look fat today?" Her voice raised an octave on the last question, to which Finn quickly responded;

"No, no, no! Of course not! Quinn you look fine! It's just-" She cut him off.

"You're not attracted to me anymore?" She stood up and placed her hands on her hips, staring him down with those soul-penetrating eyes.

"No, it's not that, it's just..." Finn couldn't find the words, as he stood to meet her gaze. "Look, I'm gonna go. I'm just feeling a bit weird. See you in school tomorrow" He leant over to kiss her, but an abrupt turn of the head made him kiss her on the cheek. He didn't fight it and simply wandered over to the front door. Quinn followed him, still looking as angry as she always did.

"Sorry Quinn. I'll see you" he nodded in her general direction, before letting himself out. As he stepped out into the cool evening air, he took a deep breath. He felt a little bit better as he wandered down the stone path. All he wanted to do now was get home and read some more of that diary. He smiled to himself at the thought. Although part of his conscience scolded him for wanting to spend more time with a girl in a book than his own girlfriend, Finn couldn't much care. He was getting to know this girl, and his interest showed no signs of wavering.

* * *

><p><strong>P.S<strong>_**.**__ I know, Fuinn! Shock Horror! But It's necessary. Or at least I think it is. Plus, I'm making Rachel very unhappy and depressed because then you can all be elated when it comes to the end, which I've already planned out! HOWEVER, I still have no idea what's going to go in the middle. So anything could happen! But at least I have a goal to get too now, so that's progress!  
>Keep reviewing! It makes writing this so much easier! And I love to hear from you!<em>


	4. Chapter 4

**Note**: _I've got a better idea for where this is going now; I have it very loosely planned out, so I know what to do with it. At the moment, it should only run to about 10 chapters, so it's going to be comfortably long. I apologise if thise chapter seems a bit all over the place; I wrote the last bit first and then added the first part, so it may overlap at parts. Anyway, enjoy! _

**P.S.**_ Woops! Slight edit; Totally did not mean to put Rachel's name in there. Sorry! Finn's not supposed to find out yet! I took it out now so it's all fixed. Thanks to **FinchelPotter** and **jennyvk92** for pointing it out!_

* * *

><p>Her tears splashed down onto the silky nightwear she was currently wearing. The TV played out the unmistakeable sounds of the ending to Funny Girl, as she sat on her bed, her legs crossed and a bowl of popcorn in her lap. It had been so long since Rachel had just sat back, relaxed and watched a good film. And now, as she wept openly at the final number, she couldn't help but feel so overwhelmed with emotion. Part of her current state was down to the movie, but another was due to the memory that was still sitting bitterly on her mind; the loss of her diary. She honestly had no idea anyone could get so attached to a book, but supposing that this book contained almost every detail of Rachel's personal life, it was kind of like losing a part of you, and the thought of never getting it back made everything so much harder. She continued to weep as the credits rolled and the movie came to an end.<p>

* * *

><p>The week after his discovery of the diary, Finn was stood in a room he never thought he'd be in; surrounded by computers and lots of technical machines, the stares of the people in the AV club, glaring up at him.<p>

He'd decided to try asking the people in the audio/visual club after an off-hand comment from Puck.  
>They'd been walking back from gym, fresh from the showers and ready to hit home, when Puck had decided he wanted to do a bit of last minute 'garbage tossing'. As much as Finn disliked accompanying him, he went along with the mohawked teen as he picked out a few 'dweebs' randomly and used his influence to 'encourage' them to participate in their own garbage tossing. He didn't even have to throw some of them in; they jumped in of their own accord. This made Puck laugh.<p>

"See Hudson? They need this!" He motioned to the line of nerdy-looking guys waiting to be tossed in the dumpster. "All the losers in this school need to be shown where they belong" despite how much he resented Puck for his way with words, his 'best friend' had just unintentionally, inspired Finn in the most unusual of ways. His eyes widened in realisation and he waved a finger at Puck, as the thoughts pieced themselves together inside his head. He smirked before patting Puck on the back.

"Sorry dude. I've gotta run. Have fun tossing people into the dumpster" Puck just shrugged and waved at Finn as he ran off.

"Cool dude"

And now here he was; standing surrounded by 'losers' and realising he was out of his depth. He gulped as he glanced over at them; looking at him as if he was lost or a piece of meat. Clearing his throat, he spoke up, not sure they were going to take his question as well as he would hope;

"I want to know if any of the girls in here keep a diary" All of the girls in the room looked at him in disgust, while the guys sniggered to one another. He continued, trying to save himself from further embarrassment; "I found a diary and wish to return it to its rightful owner; does anyone know of any girl who's lost their diary?" They still looked on at him, their faces judging him silently. Most shook their heads to indicate they knew of no one who had lost a diary. He sighed in defeat, about to make his way out of the room when the clearing of someone's throat caught his attention. He turned around to see a young boy, around freshman age, with a shaggy hair cut, standing in front of him.

"If you need help finding someone, you should speak to Lauren Zizes. She usually knows people. She might help you out" the boy nodded and forced a smile before returning to his computer. Finn nodded back.

"Thanks" He made his way out of the AV club meeting room and practically ran down the hall, trying to get back to some normality; that was just the weirdest and most uncomfortable experience he'd ever had. He'd never been to the AV club before, probably because those guys were, as Coach Sylvester put it; 'Ground floor'.

* * *

><p>That night, he sat at his desk and scribbled down one extra clue on his list;<p>

_- Not in the AV club. _

He sighed, before pulling the diary from his desk drawer and began reading the next entry with interest, hoping to distract his mind from it's constant churning.

_February 3__rd__ 2010,_

_Dear Barbara,_

_So this is going to get a little personal, but you and I are on that level now, and seeing as no one will __**ever **__read this journal, I'm not afraid to get a little intricate with my life._

Finn gulped.

_So today after a dreary day at school I thought perhaps it was about time I went and bought some new clothes. Daddy had said he needed some stuff from the mall and I definitely needed some new bras. So I rang daddy and suggested we go straight from school. It was a nice afternoon; just spending the time with my daddy, shopping and eating pretzels.  
>I managed to get some nice new outfits; a cute sailor skirt, a nice pink blouse with frills, some adorable pink pumps...<em>

Finn had to try not to gag. For the next seven or eight lines, the _Diary Girl _went on and on about the various clothes she'd bought. He honestly didn't know why he kept reading, but he did. He shot up in his seat for a moment then, and grabbed the clue list back in front of him, rushing to grab a pen and jot down another clue;

_Seems to wear lots of skirts and pumps(?)_

He pondered at his list. He had no idea what 'pumps' were, but he'd be sure to find out. _Maybe Quinn would know..._ he scanned the entry again and made another note on his list.

_Seems to like Pink. A LOT. _

He smirked. Of course she'd like pink; a little stereotypical. Finn skipped back through the entry and landed back where he had finished.

_...I also managed to by this cute little underwear set. Though I have to admit, the idea of buying attractive-looking underwear is a little silly to me; seeing as no one is actually going to see me in it. Oh well. I can hope and dream.  
>Anyway, so I got some nice new outfits. It was WAY overdue. I think some of my old frilled skirts were beginning to thin out. They were from my 15<em>_th__ birthday after all.  
>But that's not entirely why I wanted to buy some new clothes. No, I'll be honest; some of the insults from Satan and Barbie have really been getting to me. Not just about my fashion sense either. No, that I can deal with. It's when they insult me in other ways. I know I try and shrug them off, but I can always remember them, and they bug me all day. "Manhands", "RuPaul", "Tranny", "Stubbles" it's just awful what they come up with. I'm surprised I even manage to get through the day. I mean, I KNOW I'm a particularly attractive individual, but sometimes, that constant onslaught from those 'pretty girls' can really leave me hurting. I like to think of them as simply being jealous, but heck, those insults still sting! It's not fair Barbara. I mean honestly; I don't mind the slushies, they're quick, reasonably painless and they can easily be fixed with a good wash down. But those insults hurt. And they stick.<br>Why do they have to pick on me? Of all the girls in this school, why on earth do they pick me, Barbara?_

_I'm sorry Barbara. This won't do. I've got to go get some ice cream. Thanks for listening._

_Night_

Finn's heart panged and his stomach clenched up painfully. If he hadn't been so good at preventing himself from doing it, he would have cried right there and then. It was the strangest feeling that crept up inside him as he read over the heart-wrenching words in front of him. He felt so sad and so ashamed at the same time and a part of him became incredibly protective. So protective that it made him want to punch a wall, and he had no idea why. It wasn't like he knew the _Diary girl _personally, or at least he didn't know her in real life. He thought maybe it was because he knew Quinn, who was the cause of this girl's pain, but he shook that from his mind. He didn't think Quinn was that horrible, even if she was a bit bitchy, but after seeing it from the other side, his mindset had completely changed. He disliked his girlfriend even more now and he wasn't sure how he was going to deal with it. He gulped as he threw the diary down on the desk. He leant back on his chair and brushed a hand over his face. It was getting stressful, this whole investigation work. And now it was taking an emotional toll. But that only caused Finn to want to find the _Diary girl _even more.

* * *

><p>After her long crying session the other night, Rachel had finally accepted her loss and was now (mostly) back to her normal self. She strut through the halls, her head held up high and her books clutched closely to her chest. She held a stern gaze as she made for the lunchroom, lucky to have avoided Santana and Quinn all day and yet to have a slushie in her face. She picked up a tray and loaded it with salad. She had to be honest; the salad in the cafeteria was not the most appealing, but she'd forgotten her lunch today and she only had a couple of dollars to spend. She took a seat on one of the smaller tables in the corner of the cafeteria; she didn't want to draw attention to herself.<p>

As she sat, she pulled out her copy of Romeo and Juliet from English class and began skimming through the pages, absentmindedly picking through her salad delicately and bringing it to her mouth. As she turned the page, something unusual drew her attention; a feeling in her gut. She turned her head to look up and managed to spot his letterman jacket from across the cafeteria. She smiled, despite herself, and took in his form in all its glory. She was fawning over Finn Hudson and she really couldn't care. It wasn't like she was ever going to get him. He looked remarkably handsome, his hair all tussled and his cute little grin that made him look almost unbearably adorable. She felt herself blush, glad that she was sat all the way over the other side of the cafeteria. She couldn't quite help herself. She ignored the warmth in her heart and turned her gaze back to the book in front of her; the image of Romeo being replaced by Finn...and Juliet being replaced by herself...

* * *

><p>Finn sat at the edge of the table in the cafeteria, enjoying the time he was spending with his friends. He laughed as Puck recalled his latest criminal escapade. Finn had to admit, despite how stupid the guy in the Mohawk was; he was pretty funny and could be an awesome friend when he wanted to be. He laughed harder at one of the other guys response and he relaxed a little as he munched on his cheeseburger. His mind was still abuzz about the <em>Diary Girl <em>and his crazy plan for after school, but he was glad for the distraction. He was pulled from his thoughts by Puck's deep toned voice.

"Hudson?" he said, patting Finn on the back.

"Yeah man?" he replied through a mouthful of cheeseburger.

"You coming to the 7-Eleven tonight? We're gonna see if we can get someone to buy us beer!" he gestured to one of the other guys in their little 'gang'. Finn shook his head.

"Sorry dude. I've got uh- plans" he forced a smile before carrying on with his cheeseburger. Puck eyed him curiously, before shrugging and turning to the guys; starting up on another story that was probably entirely fabricated.

Finn sighed to himself as he went over his plan in his mind. Ok yes, his plan didn't run into the night and as 'fun' as it sounded getting to go with Puckerman and drink beer, he had other priorities. If his plan worked, he would find out who the _Diary Girl _actually was, and he'd have to spend his evening figuring out how he was going to talk to her. And what exactly would you say to a girl who you know so much about because you've read most of their diary? This was going to be hard...

* * *

><p>Just like before, as he had stood in the AV club meeting room, he never thought he'd be in the situation he was in right now; standing by the locker of someone he never thought he'd ever speak to in his life. He took a deep breath as he waited for her figure to turn up in the corridor. After a moment, he saw her approach at a rather rapid pace, so he made his best attempt at looking nonchalant as he leant against the locker next to hers. He'd found out which one it was from one of the nerdy kids in his math class. They had seemed confused, but they cooperated anyway, which Finn was thankful for.<br>As she approached, she seemed to completely ignore him as he stood there; her opening her locker and piling her books into a rucksack at her side. He cleared his throat, to which she turned to look at him. The look she gave him instantly made him feel three feet shorter.

"Um, Lauren...Zizes, isn't it?" he tried to smile, but he was sure it came out more like a grimace. She looked him up and down, her facial expression remaining stern. She was silent, so he pressed on. "Well, uh. You're president of the AV club, and you know...people. Or at least that's what one of the guys in your club said. But uh..." he gulped as he played with the collar of his letterman jacket. "...I was uh, wondering, if I could, uh...get some information from you?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Hudson, right?" she finally spoke. He nodded enthusiastically, pulling his rucksack further up onto his shoulder. "What do you want to know?" She turned to face him, her eyes subtly judging him.

"Well uh..." suddenly he felt very nervous, his voice caught in his throat. He swallowed hard, before collecting himself. "I want to know...if you know anyone...who keeps a diary..." Her expression shifted into one of derision.

"Excuse me?" She looked at him as if he was crazy; now he was beginning to regret his decision to ask her. He bent closer to her, talking in a whisper.

"I'm looking for a girl who keeps a diary" as the word left his mouth, he realised how weird that must have sounded, but he wanted to get some names before he gave away too much information. Finn might not have been a genius, but he'd seen enough cop dramas to know; you don't reveal all your information until you've got some solid leads. Lauren still held a look of someone who couldn't quite believe what she was hearing.

"Well Gigantor, I don't know what, or who, you're after, and I really don't want to know-" she slammed her locker shut. "-But I can't really give you that kind of information" She began to walk away, but Finn carefully pursued her.

"And why not?" he whispered, trying his hardest to make it look like he wasn't actually talking to her. She sighed heavily before turning to him.

"I don't have that kind of information. For stuff like that, you need to see J.B.I" Finn furrowed his brow at the name.

"Who's J.B.I?" He had no idea who this person was, so he can't have been very popular in any respect. Lauren sighed again, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Jacob Ben Isreal" He still looked confused. "Jewfro" she responded, to which Finn gasped in realisation. "He might be able to help you. Now if you don't mind, I'd like you to leave me alone and stop following me" at that, she turned and walked away, leaving Finn a little bewildered. Lauren Zizes was weird, but at least she had helped him without asking too many questions. He needed to find Jewfro, or Jacob, who he did actually know; he was known as the McKinley High's local gossip-monger. Jacob was like a celebrity on the internet, apparently, and he was one of those nerds who seemed to know everything. Finn had heard rumours that there was a whole system of people that work as like an underground 'mafia', where they get gossip and information and stuff. Puck had said that it was linked with the same 'shadow world' that crowned the Prom anti-king. Finn wasn't entirely convinced, but the way all the nerds and losers seemed to know each other and knew all this stuff that other people didn't, made him think perhaps the rumours were true. Maybe the jocks and the cheerleaders weren't the big shots they thought they were...

* * *

><p>After getting home that day, Finn repeated the routine that he had become so accustomed to since he found the pink diary; he fetched himself a drink from the fridge, ran up the stairs to his bedroom, settled on his bed and opened up the diary that now lived permanently under his bed. He flicked through to his latest entry;<p>

_February 15__th__ 2010_

_Dear Barbara,_

_Do you know what today is, Barbara? Today is the day after Valentine's Day. Because Valentines was on Sunday, I didn't get any cards, (except the usual one from daddy) but the next day, today, when everyone was handing theirs out, I didn't receive a single one. Not one. No card. No flowers. No nothing. To be honest, I don't know why I'm surprised; it's not like I have suitors falling at my feet. I just thought I might get one. Even a pity card, or one with a thinly veiled insult inside, from one of the popular kids. Even that would have been nice in a weird kind of way. But alas, no one remembers who I am and so everyone forgets me on a day like Valentine's._

_It's a sucky day anyway..._

_Goodnight Barbara x_

Finn's heart panged as he read through the entry. Finn always hated Valentine's day; mainly because he hated the idea of being 'forced' into giving a card to someone you 'love'. He remembers that exact Valentine's Day; he'd been dating Quinn for just under a month and she seemed to demand that he get her a card and some roses. He almost gave her chocolates, but after realising she was 'watching her figure' he gave them to his mom, who appreciated the gesture immensely. He sighed as his thoughts returned to poor lonely _Diary Girl _on Valentine's Day. He wasn't going to pretend he wasn't developing a weird sort of _connection _with the girl on the pages. It was strange, but he felt like, if he ever met this girl, he could certainly get along with her. He knew so much more about her now, and he was beginning to get attached. Not that he'd admit it to anyone...or himself.

_February 18__th__ 2010_

_Dear Barbara,_

_Well today went as expected; I got a slushie in the face, this time from a guy on the hockey team. I would have opted to comment on his poor haircut, (because come on, who has a mullet these days?) but instead, I left with what little dignity I had left and washed myself off in the girls bathroom. I was actually relieved, as I saw a couple of the girls I recognised from some of my classes. The black girl, 'Aretha' is the girl I've seen hanging around with 'Glinda'. I'm not sure whether they're friends or not, because they're constantly berating each other on their wardrobe, but they do spend an awful lot of time together. And of course, Gothika was there too. I think she's worthy of a new nickname. Would 'Emo-Asian' be racist? I'm sure it would be, but this is my journal and noone's going to see it. Anyway, I tried to make idle chit-chat, but neither of them seemed up for it. I mentioned classes and what not, but they continued with their own conversation. I decided just to listen in to their conversation, making the active choice to keep my mouth shut as long as I possibly could. They were chatting actively about something. It sounded like boy chatter, which I have no interest in participating in, but from what I heard; neither of them seemed to actually have a boyfriend, so I was slightly relieved that I wasn't the only girl who didn't have one.  
>And that's what reminded me. Listening to them talk about boyfriends made me remember my dream and the boy in it, and then I remembered the boy from the hall; the football player! So, today, during lunch, I decided to try and find out who he was.<br>I searched through the old yearbooks, and I found one from last year; our freshman year. I flicked through most of the classes, but skipped to the sports section, mostly because that was my only clue. And of course, there he was; he wasn't as high up on the football team back then, but he was still there, I can't remember what position he was, but I remember the name under his goofy picture; Finn Hudson. So the cute boy who was ridiculously tall? Finn Hudson was his name. I'll remember it. Not that he'll ever know me._

_Now, enough of boys, let's talk about my plans for this year's musical..._

Finn skipped the rest of the entry, skimming through it to find nothing of interest within the words. His mind was still a little warped from seeing that she'd found out who he was; this time for real. Ok, so half the school knew who he was, but this seemed different. Somehow, the fact that she knew him, and actually thought he was _cute _made their 'connection' so much stronger. It didn't feel so one-sided anymore; he actually felt like he knew this girl, and the thought scared him a little. Despite his inner fear, though, his curiosity got the better of him, and he was prepared to keep going in search of the _Diary Girl, _that had so easily enchanted his mind.

* * *

><p><strong>P.S.<strong>_ I decided to cheer Rachel up a little bit from now on. I hadn't intended her to get a crush of Finn, but it just sorta happened (Hahaha!) so I'm stickign with it._  
><em>By the way, I'm LOVING all your reviews! They literally make my day each time I get one! So please, carry on!<em>


	5. Chapter 5

**Note:** _Thanks to everyone who reviewed on the last few chapters! You have no idea how much I appreciate it!_  
><em>Just so you know, in this AU, there's no Glee club. So let's say, for arguments sake, that Will never took over and the Glee club is disbanded as a failure. Hence why Rachel is not in it. BUT she still wants to be a huge star. Just thought I'd make that clear._

* * *

><p>Finn slumped at his desk, his pen tapping lightly against the worktop, beating out an erratic rhythm. In front of him lay his <em>Clue List <em>for the mysterious _Diary Girl, _that he'd spent the last couple of weeks trying to find. Not much had been added, and he was still a little lost, but he was steadily making progress. He'd managed to catch up on his reading, getting almost two thirds of the way through the thick pink diary. He would be lying if he said the diary wasn't quickly becoming an obsession. He'd so far turned down two dates with Quinn and numerous hang-out sessions with Puck, just so he could go home and read the diary. As he stared at the white sheet of paper, covered with his messy handwriting, he considered how the comprehensive list of clues could potentially lead him to the author that so eluded him. He couldn't quite believe he hadn't found her yet. But, he did have one lead that could potentially help him...

* * *

><p>It was colder today, and the wind brushed angrily against his cheek. He stood on the steps of the outdoor courtyard, waiting for the moment where he would spot what he was looking for. Tapping his foot lightly against the step, he absentmindedly watched the students rushing around; he eyed all the girls that trotted past, taking in their appearances; the thought that maybe one of them was the <em>Diary girl, <em>whirling around inside his head. Maybe if he just plucked them randomly, he'd be able to find her? _No, that's stupid. _He thought. _I have to do this right. Like a proper investigation. _He returned to his search for the person he was most hoping to find. Eventually his eyes landed on the unmistakable brown afro of Jacob Ben Israel, who was passing by just down the steps. Finn leapt from where he stood, startling a few freshman as he did so, and ran full pelt towards the curly-haired boy, who seemed intently interested in his cell phone. Finn quickly caught up and stood in front of him, blocking his path. The boy stopped, frozen, as he stared up at the 6" 3' teenager glaring down at him. Despite his generally kind nature, Finn revelled in how his height intimidated most people. Especially nerds. He looked down at Jacob, who remained speechless, his eyes wide in fear.

"If you're going to give me a wedgie, I'd appreciate it if you could avoid doing it in such a public setting" he stared round at the people rushing about the courtyard, his voice high pitched and squeaky. Finn just shrugged.

"I'm not going to give you a wedgie. I actually need your help" Jacob's eyebrows disappeared into his 'fro.

"You need...my help?" he pointed to himself as he stuttered in disbelief. Finn sighed.

"Yes. Now can we go somewhere more...private?" he whispered the last word, hoping to convey the need for secrecy. Jacob gulped before nodding.

"Ok" he motioned his head towards a doorway that led into the wood shop classrooms. "Over there" Finn nodded as Jacob led the way. He tried to look casual as he strolled into the wood shop classroom, shutting the door behind him. "So what is it you need my help with? You should know, I don't do tutoring so..." Finn raised a hand, silencing him.

"No. I need your help finding someone" At this Jacob's face contorted, and a part of the fear he once had, disappeared.

"Really?" he paused and looked down at his feet, as if pondering his options. "Like who?" He said as he raised his head up again, adjusting the glasses on his face.

"I don't know exactly-" Finn began, pacing the room nervously, tugging at his letterman jacket. "I need to find a girl. A rather unpopular girl..." Jacob nodded, as if he was certain he could get what Finn wanted. "...who keeps a diary" Jacob stopped nodding and his face contorted, making it hard for Finn to read.

"What does a diary have to do with anything?"

"Everything!" Finn almost shouted. "The diary is the most important bit! Look..." he sighed as he stepped towards the bespectacled teen. "I found a diary. It belongs to a girl. An unpopular girl. And I really need to find her. So I can...you know" Finn mumbled, trying not to give too much away. "...return her diary" Jacob seemed lost in thought. Finn raised an eyebrow as the boy with the afro stood up straight, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"Can't you just ask around to see who's lost a diary?" Jacob suggested. "I'm sure your report as the popular jock and quarterback of the football team, could quickly find this girl" Jacob shrugged, as if his suggestion was obvious. Finn scrunched up his face, pinching at the brow of his nose.

"I know but-" he took a breath "-do you know what'll happen to me if I admit I've been carrying around this girl's diary? That I've been reading it? I'll be a laughing stock!" he had tried to remain quiet about the fact that he'd actually read the diary, but Finn couldn't help voice his concerns. Part of him was relieved, but another part was concerned that Jacob would now use this confession against him.

"Good point" Jacob nodded, staring back at the floor in consideration. Finn waited with bated breath as the boy thought. "So you want me-" he pointed to himself, enunciating every part of his sentence "-to find a girl, who keeps a diary, and the only clue you have is that she's unpopular?" Finn nodded, knowing he wasn't giving Jacob much to work on, but he couldn't afford to give too much away. Jacob seemed to ponder for a moment, eyeing Finn curiously.

"Ok. I'll see what I can do" Finn physically relaxed, about to thank the jewfro, before he spoke up. "But what do I get out of it?" Finn grunted unappreciatively.

"I don't know. What do you want?" He was beginning to regret his wording, but he really didn't have time for bargaining with the likes of Jacob Ben Israel. Besides, there wasn't much he could want..._was there?_

"Oh there are numerous things" Finn didn't like the mischievous look on Jacobs face. "But for now...I'd like..."

* * *

><p>Rachel skimmed through the class work for math with relative ease. She was back to her normal self now, and her grades weren't being affected at all. She prided herself in her abilities as a student, and she always enjoyed being one of the smartest in the class. However, that didn't particularly help her situation as Santana Lopez jaded her on her A+ homework assignment.<p>

"Jeez, frikkin smart-ass" Santana sneered as their teacher handed back their assignments. For some reason, this particular teacher liked to point out and make it extremely obvious that Rachel's grades were the best in the class, and as much as Rachel liked the praise, she didn't like the repercussions she would get later. Today, those repercussions manifested as a few choice insults from the 'Queen bee' and a slushie to the face, courtesy of the boy with the Mohawk. She didn't know for sure, but Rachel had a feeling the cheerleaders and the guys on the football team were in league with one another. It would make sense. But part of her didn't want to believe it. Mainly because she didn't want to believe that adorably cute Finn Hudson was like that at all. At least she'd hoped that he wasn't like the rest. Even if he was friends with them.

She sighed as she trudged through the corridor, the cold ice now liquidised and seeping its way through the fabric of her shirt. She quickly made her way to her locker, fetching a clean top, and then making for the girls bathroom to change and wash the congealed slushie from her chest and face. As she entered the bathroom, she spotted two girls huddled together at one of the sinks. She recognised them as members of the AV club which Rachel had failed to become a part of in her freshman year. As soon as she had entered the bathroom, both of the girls seemed to freeze up and stare in Rachel's direction; as if they had been interrupted in the midst of a riveting, yet private, conversation. She didn't bother smiling as they watched her set her bag down and begin to wash her face. After a while they seemed to start back up with their conservation, ignoring the sound of Rachel moving to the cubicle to get changed. As she changed her top, she couldn't help but listen in as they gossiped; it was the only way Rachel ever found out anything that happened in this school.

"-so he just turned up out of the blue?" one of the girls said.

"Yeah" the other girl replied. "It was the weirdest thing. And then he started asking weird questions, like he was looking for someone or something. No one wanted to answer him though, so they kinda just ignored him" Rachel heard one of the girls snort.

"What happened next?"

"Well that freshman kid who's just joined, Phil, he told him he should speak to Zizes. Weird-ass kid that Phil. I swear he's got like, OCD or something"

"Tell me about it-" They carried on talking about this 'Phil' guy and Rachel zoned out, not particularly interested in listening about weird freshman. She sighed as she left the cubicle and headed for the door; not giving the girls a second look.

* * *

><p>Finn could've punched Jacob. Not only did he creep out Finn just from the way he looked, he was actually creepy himself. Like, super creepy. He'd tried to bargain with Finn over finding out about this girl. And what did he want in return?<p>

"...a lock of your girlfriends hair?" Finn was speechless for a moment as he let the words sink in.

"Wha-what?" he stuttered, not quite registering what he was hearing.

"I would like, in exchange for helping you find this girl, a lock of hair from Quinn Fabray's head" Jacob seemed deadly serious at his suggestion, which only proved to freak Finn out even more.

"Dude! That's totally creepy!" He glared at Jacob, trying to threaten him with his height and build, but Jacob seemed to swallow some fear as he stood up taller too.

"Those are my terms. Take it or leave it" He was adamant as he stared Finn down. He didn't want to do it, but Finn was desperate. He sighed, relaxing his body.

"Fine" he muttered. "On one condition" he eyed the boy in front of him carefully. "You get it..." he held a finger to him, punctuating his seriousness. "...**after **you get me what I want" He watched Jacob's face carefully. After a moment of silence, the boy with the afro sighed.

"Fine. You have yourself a deal" At that, Finn stuck out his hand. Jacob looked at him like he was crazy. Finn motioned his head to his outstretched hand.

"Shake on it" Jacob rolled his eyes before tentatively reaching for Finn's hand. Finn gripped Jacob's hand tightly, not-so-subtly showing him he had all the strength to beat him up if things came down to it. "Not a word of this to anyone" Finn warned; his voice as deep and threatening as he could make it. Jacob just nodded lightly, before pulling back his hand in earnest, nursing it a little.

Finn left the wood shop room first, making his way quickly to the cafeteria; sure that Puck would wonder where he was.

* * *

><p>That afternoon, Finn did as he had always been doing; going to his room and spending several hours reading the diary. He'd been spending a lot of time concentrating on each entry, trying to find clues hidden within the words. He'd been surprised at how helpful his English teacher had been in the matter; he had unintentionally helped Finn by suggesting that <em>"when studying a book, you need to read between the lines. See the meaning behind the words". <em>And now, that was exactly what Finn was doing every time he read an entry; he was trying to find patterns, or messages hidden in the pages. Part of him laughed at how hard he was trying. If he tried this hard when doing his homework, he'd probably have much better grades. Unfortunately for Finn though, he sucked at 'reading between the lines', and couldn't find anything in any of the entries. He sighed in exasperation as he turned to the next entry and began reading, ignoring the idea of reading between them, and instead, just read the lines.

_March 9__th__ 2010_

_Dear Barbara,_

_Did you know our school has a Renaissance club? Well I signed up for it last year, and I have to say, it was a pretty interesting club! The costumes were exquisite, though I must admit, the company left something to be desire. I don't think I really got on well with the other girls in the club. Well, to be honest I know I didn't. Because when I went to sign up today, they told me they're not taking any more applicants. Apparently they're "going in a different direction". To me that just sounds like an excuse. But I suppose I have to get used to rejection if I'm going to make my way to stardom. As brilliant as I am, I know there'll be those directors who are too ignorant or jealous of my talent that they'll insist I'm "not the part". But of course, they'll see. I'm telling you now Barbara; I'm going to be a huge star! And all those flouncy directors are going to regret turning me down!_

_I've never told you my plans for the future, have I Barbara? Not truly. I have a planner you see; one that stretches through my entire life; and it details every role I'm going to perform and every award I'm going to win. I could go on about the various events I will attend, what I'll wear to said events, my acceptance speeches for my various awards etc, etc, but that would just be repeating what's already in my planner. Instead, I'll just summarise; I'll make my Broadway debut in about five years, following a couple of years in college studying the dramatic arts. Possible roles include Elphaba in Wicked, Maria in West Side Story, Eponine in Les Mis, perhaps a starring role in Phantom, Oliver or some other classic musical, but for now, we'll have to wait and see. I'll originate a role that'll earn me my first Tony at age 25, and then onto the Lincoln Center, the West End and I may even delve into television at a later stage. So far, that's all I've planned as of yet, but I promise you, it will stretch farther. I'm thinking a record deal, maybe a Grammy. But that's yet to be decided. Either way; I'm going to take the world by storm! Just you wait and see, Barbara! Just you wait and see!_

_Oh, well it's time for my evening tea. I'll speak with you later Barbara._

_Night x_

Finn smiled as he finished up the entry. He loved this girl's determination; the way she'd planned everything she wanted to do with her life, in excruciating detail. Even though he didn't rightly understand the majority of what she planned to do, Finn could tell that, whatever it was, was big and way bigger than anything in Lima. It actually made him reconsider much of his own life; Finn was never one to dream very big. He had no idea what he was going to do after high school; he was just hoping something would come along and give him a helping hand when the time came. But seeing this girl's fierce determination and the way she knew exactly what she wanted...it made Finn somewhat anxious. He shook the uncomfortable idea from his head and hopped off the bed, and over to his desk. Placing the diary on the top, open at the page he'd just been reading, he pulled up his chair and took the clue list from the drawer and set to work adding a few more things.

_- Wants to go to Broadway  
>- <em>_Wants to win a Tony by age 25  
><em>_- Loves musicals_

As he skimmed through the diary entry once again, his mind suddenly sparked, and for the first time, in what felt like months, Finn felt the clogs turning excitedly in his brain. He read through the entry again until he reached the section that stated which roles the _Diary girl _wanted to play on Broadway. He smiled to himself as he thought; _Surely some of the characters she wants to play would look like her?_ He smiled even wider as he reached for his laptop and switched it on.

Within minutes, Finn was on Google images, and had begun his frantic search to build a mental picture of the _diary girl. _He'd never actually considered what she would look like; not properly. But now he was going to get an even greater idea of who she might be. He couldn't stop his leg from bouncing excitedly as he tapped away at the keyboard.

His first search was 'Elphaba' the character from Wicked. As he clicked search, his face contorted into confusion. _This chick's green? _He raised his brow in wonder. _She's not going to turn out green is she? _He quickly shook the idea from his mind; that was ridiculous.  
>He tried the next one; Maria from West Side Story. Typing it in quickly, he smiled a little at the results; <em>now this is more like it. <em>The photos were old, some of them in black and white, but he could get a rough idea of what the character looked like. Grabbing a separate piece of paper, he began jotting down his own description of the girls he was looking at; _long brown hair, slightly tanned, cute face. _He had no idea if this was actually what the _Diary Girl _looked like, but he was too worked up in the thought that this _might be_ what she looked like, to really care.  
>He moved onto the next character; Eponine in Les Mis. He had no idea how to say either the characters name, or the name of the play; <em>What kind of name is Lez Miz? <em>But his thoughts were quickly forgotten as he eyed the results. There were lots of images of girls, dressed like boys and covered in dirt. What kind of play was this? He scanned through the images, mentally noting that there were lots of different girls playing varying different characters. Some of them were quite hot and part of his mind, the sexually-orinatated part, kept wondering how hot this _Diary girl _would be. He quickly shrugged off his dirty thoughts as he eyed his list of clues. It seemed that both Maria and Eponine had brown hair in most of their photos, so he could only assume this girl had brown hair. He nodded to himself as he jotted it down on his clue list. He read through the entire list again to see how far he'd come;

_- Girly girl  
>- <em>_Puts a star at the end of each diary entry  
><em>_- Jewish  
><em>_- Vegan (?)  
><em>_- Dresses weirdly  
><em>_- Bullied by the Cheerios (Santana, 'Ditzy' and Quinn)  
><em>_- Got (Gets?) slushied by Puck  
><em>_- Hangs out in the library during lunch  
><em>_- MIGHT not have a boyfriend  
><em>_- Seems to have thing for me  
><em>_- Not in the AV club  
><em>_- Seems to wear lots of skirts and pumps(?)  
><em>_- Seems to like Pink. A LOT.  
><em>_- Wants to go to Broadway  
><em>_- Wants to win a Tony by age 25  
><em>_- Loves musicals  
><em>_- Has brown hair_

He sighed to himself then, suddenly realising how little progress he had actually made. All he'd found out was her hair colour. That narrowed it down to...still over half the girl's in school. He sighed into his hands. This was going to be harder than he thought.

* * *

><p>The next day at school, Finn had hoped to relax a little, as he'd subconsciously decided to stop worrying about the <em>Diary girl <em>until Jacob Ben Israel came up to him to give him his news. The kid said he'd need a few days, so Finn had plenty of time to get his mind off the girl that was constantly plaguing it. Now, he just wanted to relax, or at least relax as much as you could while still going to high school. Of course, that wasn't going to happen for him, as Puck started questioning him as they walked through the halls of McKinley High.

"Dude, what's up with you? You've been M.I.A all week? It's like you're off in dreamland all of a sudden?" Finn sighed as he walked with Puck to his next lesson.

"Nah man. Just got a lot on my mind" Finn tried to shrug it off, but Puck was incessant.

"What is it man? Quinn giving you a hard time? Cos there's probably a reason for that" He seemed genuinely interested, and at the mention of Quinn, his voice changed, which threw Finn off slightly.

"What? No. No, it's not about Quinn" He looked down at his feet as they scuffed along the floor. Still Puck went on.

"Really? Because I hear you two have been having problems?" At that, Finn turned to his friend and eyed him curiously, a fluttering of anger building up inside him.

"What! Who told you that?" Finn felt the twinge of anger swell up and he wasn't really sure why. "There's nothing wrong with me and Quinn!" He pulled himself up taller and puffed out his chest as best as he could. Puck may have been more muscular than Finn, but he still had three inches on the mohawked teen. Puck seemed to relent then, lowering his head and his voice.

"Ok dude. Don't get your panties in a bunch" Finn shrugged off Puck's comment and the both of them continued to their class in silence. It was math, which Finn hated, and was one of the few classes he shared with Puck. Of course, as they reached the class and Puck realised what subject it was, he soon disappeared down the hall and towards the cafeteria. Finn had no idea why Puck refused to sit through math, and had skipped the lesson ever since the start of their sophomore year, but he wasn't going to argue; he didn't particularly feel like being bombarded with questions from his best friend. Instead, he sat quietly on his table, tapping his foot absentmindedly on his chair. The teacher made them do various algebraic fractions, but Finn couldn't care less what the answers were. Instead, he just jotted down whatever number seemed right in his head; regardless of the question.

Soon enough, the bell rang and class ended, signalling the start of lunch. Finn sighed in relief as he sat up from his desk and made a quick getaway out of the classroom. He marched down the hall at speed, his mind on one thing; food. It wasn't until he almost knocked her over did he notice Quinn storming up to him, her face flushed with anger.

"Finn!" she hissed. He had to fight back the urge to flinch, which he always felt like doing when she put on that tone.

"Quinn! You're talking to me" he pointed out. He rubbed his neck in nervousness.

"Yes. Only because I need to ask what's going on with you? You've turned down two of our dates and you haven't even given me a decent excuse!" she had her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes in thin slants, as if secretly scanning him to tell if he was going to lie. This made Finn even more nervous, as he could never rightly get used to Quinn's constant mood swings. He stuttered, trying the right way to word it, without directly lying, but without actually telling her the truth. This made his head hurt and he found himself squinting to think.

"uh – um" he mumbled.

"Yes?" she punctuated, taking a step toward him in a very threatening manner. He gulped.

"I – uh. I've been busy...uh – with – uh homework and – stuff" He knew that wouldn't work the moment it left his mouth. He was right.

"Don't lie to me Finn Hudson" she hissed again, her voice thick with malice. He really was beginning to dislike his 'girlfriend'. Perhaps he should break up with her there and then? He thought about it. _No, no. I can't. Not yet. _He sighed, as he tried to come up with an excuse that wasn't going to fail completely. Eventually, an idea popped into his mind. He didn't know whether it would work, but he hadn't any other plan.

"I've been helping my mom, because uh – she had to have surgery" it was a complete lie and he knew it. He couldn't tell for sure, but part of him thought perhaps Quinn had actually believed him; she seemed to relax slightly, bringing her arms to her side.

"Oh" was all she said, still looking at him carefully, but without that look of anger.

"Yea" he said as he rubbed his neck again; a nervous tick he'd had since he was a child. "So, I've had to help her, you know...cook and stuff" He tried to smile at her, which seemed to work. Quinn just nodded and, without another word, marched off towards the gym. He stood for a moment, slightly perplexed at her lack of speech, which was unusual, even for Quinn, but he shrugged it off; he was just glad he'd got off without too much punishment.

* * *

><p>She was rather surprised at how Quinn had completely ignored her as they passed each other in the corridor; usually the blonde teen would make use of any opportunity to insult Rachel Berry, but yet, she had completely blanked her as she stormed through the hallway, a look of pure anger on her face. Rachel let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding as she headed for the library; fortunate that she wasn't going to be whoever was on the receiving end of Quinn Fabray's anger.<p>

Rachel had remembered her own lunch today and she was quite happy to be returning to the safety and solitude of the school library. She took a seat in her favourite spot in the corner, and began to unpack her homework that had been set that day. Rachel liked getting a head start on any homework she received; it meant it gave her more time to work on her other priorities, like her singing voice. As she munched happily on her salad, jotting down notes for her essay, she spotted a figure, out of the corner of her eye, slowly making its way towards her. Without looking she already knew who it was; Jacob Ben-Israel. The teen with the afro had a not-so-small thing for Rachel, which creeped her out to no end. She sighed as she sat up to look at him.

"What do you want Jacob?" She didn't bother with pleasantries when it came to Jacob. She crossed her arms over her chest; partly to show him that she was in no mood to be interrupted, but also partly to prevent him from staring so obviously at her chest, which he did all too often.

"Ah, Miss Berry. What a delight to see you again" He stepped closer, the table being the only thing between their two bodies, which Rachel was thankful for. His bespectacled eyes began to scan her like some form of predator and its prey, to which Rachel huffed in annoyance.

"I wish I could say the same" she turned her gaze away from him and back onto her homework. She hoped he would get the idea and would get lost, but after a moment, she realised he hadn't. Instead, he took a seat in front of her and leant over the table, causing her to draw back as his face came much to close for comfort.

"I have a question to ask you..." the smile that stretched across his face gave Rachel a very foreboding feeling. "...about something very...personal..."

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><p><strong>P.S.<strong> _Ooooh! Cliffhanger! I'm sorry, but it just kinda of formed of its own accord. I'm actually quite happy with this chapter; more so than others. I was struck with inspiration halfway through and that's how Finn's Google search was formed. I can't believe I never thought of it before!_  
><em>Anyway, tell me what you think! I'm still unsure with my Rachel writing, and now that Quinn's in the picture, I don't know how well I'm writing her. Opinions?<br>I promise I'll have the next chapter done a lot quicker than normal; we don't want you to be in too much agony as you wait._


	6. Chapter 6

**Note**: _Alright. Time to put you guys out of your misery...here's what happens next, straight after Chapter 5. Enjoy! I know I got this up relatively quick after the last chapter, but I'm afraid it might be a bit longer before I put up the next chapter. We'll just have to wait and see. I hope this tides you over. Also, thanks to everyone single one of you who reviewed! You don't know how much it means to be me when you do!_

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><p>She sat, her mouth agape, as Jacob's words were sowly registered by her brain. In that moment she made a split-second decision and allowed her instincts to kick in; which resulted in a large red mark appearing on the side of Jacob's face; put there by Rachel's surprisingly strong right hand.<br>Jacob looked shocked at the contact, but no more shocked than Rachel did at his question. He held his own hand up to his cheek, and for a moment, she thought he might insist that he would 'never wash this cheek again'. Obviously she overestimated Jacob's level of creepiness as he nursed the slowly reddening area.

"Ow! Jeez! That hurt!" he stood up then and mumbled something unintelligible. Rachel suddenly felt a pang of guilt in her heart.

"I'm so sorry Jacob! I don't know what came over me! But..." she regained herself. "But you really shouldn't be asking questions like that! It was really rude and inappropriate!" He looked at her like she was crazy.

"All I asked is what bra size you were! There was no need to slap me!" He caressed his still very red cheek as he started to walk away. He mumbled something to himself that sounded a lot like 'more trouble than she's worth'. Rachel sighed as she sat back in her seat. A realisation washed over her then, and it did nothing to lighten her mood; now even Jacob Ben-Israel, who had once been her almost-stalker, was beginning to get tired of her. She buried her face in her hands in an attempt to stop herself crying. She was just too much for any boy to handle, and that realisation saddened her almost as much as the loss of her journal had.

* * *

><p>Finn slumped into school on Friday as if a huge weight were carried on his shoulders. Of course, this wasn't the case, but he wasn't going to pretend otherwise. He walked lazily to his locker, where he did his usual thing and tugged out all his books for the day. As he stood there, his eyes still trying to focus, and the clogs in his brain slowly attempting to spring to life, he was quickly alerted to the presence of someone standing next to him. The sudden appearance of Jacob Ben-Israel at his side was enough to shock him into 'waking up'. He blinked a couple of times as his eyes focused on the large afro that seemed to dwarf Jacob's head. His brain finally snapped to work and he managed to mumble some coherent words.<p>

"Hey! Jacob! Uh – what's up?" Finn shook his head lightly as the boy in front of him darted his gaze around the hallway.

"Hudson" the small boy squawked. "I have an update on that-" he lowered his voice to a whisper "-_assignment _you set me". He looked up at the tall quarterback, a flicker of fear in his eyes. Finn smiled as warmly as he could this early in the morning, a look of excitement barely visible beneath his sleep-deprived eyes.

"Oh yeah?" He gripped his backpack tighter as Jacob cleared his throat. The boy stuttered a bit, staring down at his feet a little.

"I-I'm afraid I haven't been successful" he risked looking up at Finn's face, which seemed to have physically fallen in disappointment. He sighed.

"Are you sure? Like, have you double-checked or triple-checked? You've got to know something?" Jacob just shook his head, to which Finn groaned audibly. "Geez, I thought you were good" Jacob just sighed in defeat.

"Sorry my friend. No such luck. However-" he looked up at Finn, who seemed to be eyeing him curiously. "-If I had a few more clues..." Finn stopped him there.

"No. No, I haven't anything more to give you. And I'm not giving you the diary, if that's what you mean. Just..." he squinted as he wiped his face with his hand. "...Don't worry about it. Ok? I don't need your help anymore. I'll do it myself" at that, he slammed the locker door shut and stalked off in the opposite direction of the teen afro; now just as sullen as he had been when he walked into school that morning. As he meandered through the halls of the school, Finn realised now that he was no closer to finding the _diary girl _as he had been yesterday. He had asked both the president of the AV club and the school's biggest gossip-monger, and neither had anything interesting to give to him. He was very slowly, beginning to lose hope. One respite, though, was that at least now he didn't need to figure out a way of getting some of Quinn's hair without seeming like a weirdo.

* * *

><p>As he made his way to the cafeteria for lunch, Finn still felt incredibly down, and he was beginning to think people had noticed. As he got in the queue to grab himself some lunch, he looked around the busy hall to try and spot his friends. His eyes soon caught a glimpse of a Cheerios uniform and he was able to identify his girlfriend from the tight blonde pony tail that curled at the end. He knew for certain it was her because Quinn's hair was one of the few things he did like about her. He then realised she was sitting at a table next to some dude, and she was laughing. A small, almost unnoticeable part of him seemed jealous, but his own brain questioned why he was even concerned. He was slowly drifting away from Quinn, and he didn't feel as jealous as he really should have been. The jealousy increased a little, though, when he noticed that the guy she was laughing at, happened to be his best friend. Finn simply shrugged it off, walking over with his tray of lunch and sitting himself opposite the two. He didn't even notice the way they jumped at his sudden appearance and rather quickly slid apart.<p>

"Sup dude. Quinn" he nodded to the both of them as he began to tuck into his lasagne.

"Hello Finn" Quinn smiled, as she reached over to grab his hand. Finn didn't resist, but he didn't move to hold hers back. He just chewed his bite and swallowed.

"So what were you guys chatting about?" he asked, eyeing the both of them to see if anything was unusual.

"You know dude. Just stuff. Nothing important" Puck glanced quickly at Quinn, before taking a sudden interest in his hands. Finn considered that just as normal as anything, so he just shrugged.

"Cool" he said with a mouthful of lasagne. It fell silent then, the only sound coming from Finn's mouth as he chewed his food.

"Hey Finn?" Quinn perked up after a moment. Finn looked up at her, his eyebrows raised as if to say 'yes?' "Are you free this weekend? I think we should go out" Finn swallowed his mouthful and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm free. What do you have in mind?" he looked at her questioningly, while carefully observing Puck at her side. He seemed a little on edge and Finn couldn't work out why.

"How about a movie? Or dinner? I think there's a new restaurant opening downtown. We should go" Quinn tapped her chin and stared at the ceiling in thought. Finn just nodded along as he finished up his lasagne; as much as he didn't like the idea of going anywhere but Breadstix (Which was the best restaurant in town, in Finn's opinion), he wasn't up to arguing with Quinn; He'd been dating her long enough to know it was useless to resist. So instead, he just smiled and nodded as she explained what they'd do, only really half-listening.

As soon as Quinn had finished planning out their weekend, Finn was quick to strike up a conversation with one of the guy's from the football team who had taken a seat next to him. As they chatted rather simply about anything that came to mind, Finn saw Quinn cross her arms over her chest in annoyance, out of the corner of his eye. She glanced around everywhere before finally standing up and sighing heavily, as if trying to attract his attention. He turned to look at her as she straightened out her uniform before forcing a sickeningly sweet smile.

"Bye Finn" she chimed, sneaking a quick glance in Puck's direction, before walking away, not stopping to kiss Finn, as she usually did. He watched as she marched her way towards a group of other Cheerios, one of which was 'Satan'. Finn laughed to himself at the memory of the _Diary girl's _nickname for the bitchy Latina cheerleader; it was all too perfect. Finn had begun to learn the various nicknames that the _Diary girl _had provided some of the students with. He still didn't know who each of them were in real life, but he'd built up little mental pictures of what he thought they looked like as he played out the scenarios from the diary, inside his head. As sad as it seemed, he enjoyed using his imagination as he read; it helped him to absorb what he was reading. But as of yet, his mind couldn't build a clear mental image of the _Diary girl _herself. Despite now assuming she had brown hair, her actual face still eluded him. There were moments where he would just imagine her as he wanted her to look like, but the image quickly blurred and changed, as if his mind had its own ideas. He was just trying to picture her again when a sharp pain ran through his right arm. He turned to see Puck retract his fist a smug look on his face.

"Ouch dude! What was that for?" Finn questioned, turning back in his seat to face his friend, rubbing his arm where Puck's fist had just made contact.

"You were doing it again man! Like, totally off in dreamland!" Some of the football guys who were now sat at their table, nodded along. "What the hell is up with you lately? I mean, seriously?" Puck leant forward, his eyebrows furrowed. "The guys think it might start messing with our practice" he motioned his head to the group of football players, who all looked at Finn with a certain worried look. Of course it wasn't a worried look in the sense that they were concerned for his wellbeing; Finn knew that for sure. No, the guys were more concerned about their Quarterback losing focus during a game and potentially screwing up. At any other point, Finn would have been bothered, but today, his entire outlook on life was sluggish and he frankly couldn't care. He shrugged.

"Dunno what to tell you dude" he spoke to his feet. "Just been thinking a lot" He looked back up to see Puck roll his eyes. Finn grunted as he stood up and left the table, taking his tray with him. He couldn't deal with being ridiculed right now. He just wanted to go home. Go home and read the diary.

* * *

><p>Rachel was all too familiar with the bitter taste of rejection, and her recent 'confrontation' with Jacob Ben-Israel was just another reminder that there were no men in Rachel's life that held any kind of romantic feelings towards her. It depressed her in the worst kind of way, and she couldn't shake the thought as she progressed through the rest of the day.<p>

Even when she got home, welcomed back by the loving arms of her fathers, Rachel still felt incredibly downhearted. So, as she strolled up the stairs to her bedroom, she decided she would abandon her usual afternoon routine, and instead got changed into her PJ's and stuck on a romantic-comedy and spent the afternoon crying into her sheets. She didn't even concern herself with the half-completed homework she'd brought home with her; she was too worked up watching the story of Noah and Allie unfolding before her.

* * *

><p>Finn was home ridiculously early today, and he wasn't sure why. It may have been his eagerness to leave his last lesson so quickly that he shot out just as the bell rang, or it may have been the immense inkling in his heart that drew him to his new favourite possession; the diary. He didn't even stop for a drink as he shot upstairs and leapt onto the bed, feeling underneath it for the diary. Soon enough he felt the crisp cardboard spine and pulled it out to set it on the bed. He trotted over to his desk, where he pulled out his <em>Clue list <em>and settled that on his nightstand, with a pen; ready to add any more notes if he discovered them. Opening the diary to the next biggest entry, he began reading, all too eager to find out more.

_March 23__rd__ 2010_

_Dear Barbara,_

_I'm sure you're aware that my relationship status still remains at single. But I'm telling you now, that today, I am fully ready to experience the trials and tribulations that come with a relationship. However, as you will also know, as of February 14__th__, I have no potential suitors at my call, which means getting a boyfriend is yet to be anything less than a challenge. Not that I find it completely necessary to have a boyfriend Barbara! Oh no! I am very proud as a woman and am a strong supporter of the feminist movement; I feel more of us should stand up for our rights and be independent, without the male species to drag us down. But of course, that does not mean I wouldn't like the chance to have a man on my arm. A man to hug or cuddle or even kiss, whenever I wanted to. That wouldn't be so bad._

He had no idea what was happening, but as he read, Finn felt himself swelling up with this warm feeling in his chest. He couldn't rightly place it, but it was something that felt too good to ignore. It swirled around in him, mixing with the sympathy he had developed for the _Diary girl. _He might have been slightly put-off by the feminism that laced the entry, but his feelings at that moment soon overpowered his own thoughts.

_Now, you're probably wondering why on earth I'm discussing this right now. Well I'll have you know, I think I've discovered my very own potential boyfriend! Of course, I won't name him right away, because anonymity is essential, but for now, I'd like to nickname him 'Mr. Perfect'. I know that's potentially egotistical, but if you could see him Barbara! Oh my god, he's the epitome of a man. He has beautiful curly locks of brunette hair, and the most dazzling smile I think I have ever seen! And his voice! Oh, his voice Barbara, it could charm birds from the trees. It makes my knees weak every time he opens his mouth._

Another feeling bubbled up inside of Finn, but instead of the comforting, warm rush he'd felt before, this feeling made him uncomfortable and a tiny part of him wanted to punch something. His curiosity peaked and he quickly read on.

_Oh I've forgotten to tell you where I know Mr. Perfect from! He goes to my ballet lessons on the weekend. I'd never seen him in there before, but apparently he changed his timetable so he attends our classes now. I haven't spoken to him since he joined, but I can tell we both have chemistry. I'm just waiting for the day when we're partnered together._

_Anyway, I must dash Barbara. I'm writing this before school because I forgot to do it last night after ballet._

_Bye x_

Finn settled the diary down on his bed as he contemplated the entry. Something about this 'Mr. Perfect' made him feel uncomfortable and he couldn't rightly understand why. He sighed as he took the clue list from his nightstand and scribbled down a couple of extra clues.

_- Goes to dance lessons  
>- Has (had ?) a thing for a guy named Mr. Perfect<em>

Finn suddenly felt like he didn't want to read anymore, and his usual curiosity suddenly all but disappeared completely. He shoved the diary into its normal 'home' beneath his bed, and hid the clue list in his nightstand drawer. He then spent the next couple of hours killing zombies on the Xbox; unintentionally trying to keep his mind away from the uncomfortable feeling in his chest.

* * *

><p>Monday morning and Finn turned up to school just as lethargic and downcast as he had the week before. This time, the feeling wasn't down to his lack of information about the <em>Diary girl; <em>instead, it was down to the uncomfortable feeling he'd developed since reading the entry from March 23rd. And it was clearly bothering him. He still didn't know what it was, but he could have sworn it was something akin to jealousy. Should he be jealous of a girl he doesn't even know, falling for a guy he doesn't even know? He'd been pondering that question all weekend, and it left his mind more than a little jumbled. He tried not to think about it and had distracted himself with anything he could find; movies, TV, video games, even homework. However, he had an eerie feeling he had forgotten something that weekend and he couldn't quite work out what.

His answer was soon given to him though, quite clearly, by one Quinn Fabray, who marched up to him that morning, her face contorted in such rage that Finn thought she might literally explode. She didn't even speak for the first minute or so, and that scared Finn more than anything.

"Uh-Quinn. Hi" He said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. He may have been over 6" tall and almost twice the weight of her, but Finn still felt a shiver down his spine whenever he had to deal with, as he coined her, 'Scary Quinn'. She stood in front of him, seemingly pretty relaxed, her arms by her sides and he head tilted slightly; but Finn new better. The look on her face was enough to show that she was literally radiating anger from her every pore. After what seemed like hours, she spoke up, her voice low and thick with malice.

"Where were you?" She didn't elaborate, and it took Finn the total sum of one minute to realise what she was talking about. He gasped in realisation, and slapped a hand against his forehead.

"The date! This weekend! Oh god! Quinn, I'm so sorry!" He held up his hands in defence, his face full of guilt and regret. "I totally forgot! I'm so sorry! I'll make it-" She stopped him short by raising her hand, her eyes closed as if trying to focus.

"Just, shut it, Finn" Her voice wasn't quite as malicious, but she was still evidently pissed. Finn slapped his mouth shut, not taking his gaze off her. "I knew something was up, but I thought a nice dinner would help sort things out" she continued to keep her eyes closed, as if she was worried that looking directly at Finn would make her lose her temper. "But obviously even that is out of the question now" she sighed heavily, before finally opening her eyes and looking up to Finn's face, which he knew looked almost distraught with guilt. "We'll have to try again another day" she said, nodding to him. Finn took this as his cue to speak.

"Right. Yeah. Ok. Sounds cool" he fumbled over his words nervously. "Quinn, I'm so sorry I-" she raised her hand again.

"I don't want to hear it Finn" she hissed. "Just...don't say anything" Finn nodded, swallowing his words before staring down at his feet. "Good" she muttered. She then took her leave, turning to walk in the opposite direction. She took a few steps forward, before turning round to face Finn again. She eyed him carefully, the anger still very evident in her eyes. "Just so you know, after that little stunt you pulled..." she paused for a moment, looking him up and down. "...you're never getting to second base now" She turned away quickly then, and marched off at speed, not giving Finn a second glance.

It took him a while to register her words, and as they did, he inwardly groaned. Shutting his eyes and slamming his head against the nearest locker, he sighed heavily. The only thought now though, was the fact that, without the promise of second base, there was nothing in his relationship with Quinn, to keep him there. The realisation made him wonder. The thought was quickly shuffled from his mind, though, as the class bell rang and Finn made his way, begrudgingly, towards his next lesson.

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><p><strong>P.S.<strong> _I know, I know; depressed Rachel is back again, but it's really hard to write interesting scenes with her when she's not unhappy! But, have no fear! For in 3 or 4 chapters, she will be happy again! Just you wait and see!_  
><em>As you can probably tell, I'm slowly building Finn's feelings for the Diary girl in preparation for their final meeting. I know it might seem a bit farfetched, but I'm trying to make it less obvious and much more subtle. I was also trying to drive a bigger wedge between Finn and Quinn in preparation for the final chapters. It'll all make sense in the end, I promise. Reviews welcome and encouraged!<em>


	7. Chapter 7

**Note:**_ I took me a while to write this chapter and I'm still on the fence about it; so your opinions would be most welcome!  
>Be warned; there's some angst and a certain level of violence in this chapter. Just so you know.<em>

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><p><em>Wednesday 31<em>_st__ March 2010_

_Dear Barbara,_

_So you remember I told you about 'Mr Perfect in my ballet class? Well I tried speaking to him today. Our tutor had aligned us up on the bars together, and he looked so graceful as he practiced his pirouettes. I don't know how long he's been doing ballet, but he is awfully good. He could rival even me! So when I spoke to him, I tried to make myself sound as professional as I could; screaming like a silly little girl wouldn't get his attention. At least it didn't work for the rest of the girls in our class. I decided to compliment him on his effort, and asked him how long he'd been doing ballet. It's always good to start a conversation with a question; it gives the other person no choice but to reply. Of course, when he opened his mouth, I had to stop my knees from shaking. He was so masculine and stern. He said he'd been doing it for eight years. Impressive. Though not quite as impressive as my 12 years experience. I told him this (though I was sure to phrase it less egotistically. I know from experience that that can be a turn off for some boys) but he seemed quite impressed. He flounced off then, and began speaking with the tutor. Our conversation may have been brief, but we definitely hit it off. I can tell. We have great chemistry. I bet he can sing too. That would literally make him 'Mr Perfect'._

_Oh what else is there? School is going fine; I'm still getting my lipstick flushed down the toilet, but I'm not so worried about that; I don't wear it very often. I have yet to make many more friends, but I seem to have developed some kind of acquaintanceship with some of the students in my homeroom class. Saying that, it's less like an acquaintanceship and more like that they seem to tolerate my talking and don't answer back, which is more than I can ask for. As for the rest of it, well you can probably tell. Satan and Barbie are still making it their life's mission to terrorise me. I have to admit, the jokes are wearing a bit thin; I'm surprised that Queen Bee manages to get an A in her English when she can't even come up with coherent or wince-worthy insults on a daily basis. Satan seems to do a better job. _

_I should probably mention I saw...'Mr. Tall, dark and handsome' today. I know I've broken my anonymity rule by writing his name in this journal before, but...I suppose it's not a worry. Not that anyone's going to read this. But anyway, from now on, his little code name is going to be 'Mr. Tall, dark and handsome', simply because that's the perfect description for him. I know it's a bit cliché but it's a relevant nickname. But I digress; I saw him in the school again today. Except he wasn't being his usual self. (Oh how can I even say that I don't even know him!) Well, he was doing something that I've seen some of the other guys on the football team do before. And in my opinion the action is utterly deplorable; I saw him help 'Mr. Mohawk' throw some nerds in the dumpster out the back of school. I can't believe he gets away with that kind of cruelty! And part of me can't believe anyone could actually do that! I can understand the guy with the Mohawk, because he's got about as much conscience as an amoeba, but Mr. Tall, dark and handsome? I thought he'd be different. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I'm a terrible judge of character..._

_No actually! I'm an excellent judge of character! I know Barbie is evil and manipulative; I know Satan is just, dare I say it, a bitch; I know the guy with the Mohawk could do with a firm slap across the face; I know Glinda is as gay as my dads, even if he might hide it; I know Aretha is as big a diva as I am; and I even know that Emo-Asian is secretly quite nice, despite dressing like she's going to suck someone's blood. So no, I am definitely good at judging people's characters! And my judgement says that Mr. Tall, dark and handsome is secretly a lovely boy. Despite his group of friends._

_Sorry Barbara, must dash! I can't believe I've written so much today! Its tea time and I'm hoping daddy has cooked something with tofu, because I'm starving!_

_Night x_

* * *

><p>Finn walked into school on Tuesday, his whole demeanour slightly brightened, and he was not entirely sure why.<br>Ok, that was a lie, because he knew exactly why. The fact that the _Diary girl _was very much still hung up on him gave him a slight ego boost. Finn was never big headed; far from it, but he couldn't help feeling giddy inside when he knew someone had a thing for him. And for some reason, the fact that it was this _Diary girl _made it even better. He couldn't quite explain it, but Finn was a firm believer in not questioning the good things. As strange as they may seem.

He got to his locker with a certain level of glee, that he was glad for, compared to the depression he'd be suffering from lately. His new-found happiness, however, could not distract him from the very clear absence of his best friend this morning. Usually, on most days, Puck would be at Finn's side almost constantly; his ever-irritating theories on seduction and Mario (but not together!) were a consistent background noise that Finn had become accustomed to. But today, Puck was nowhere in sight. He hadn't text Finn to tell him he was ill (or another, less savoury equivalent) so he assumed he would be in. But there was no sign of him. Finn tried to shrug it off; he'd probably turn up sooner or later. He then quickly made his way to his first class, a small smile tugging at his lips as his thoughts returned to the _diary girl_.

* * *

><p>Rachel strolled into class, a fake smile plastered on as she settled in her seat. She was still feeling incredibly depressed, but she was hoping that the buzz and bustle of school would help distract her. As the teacher started up on his lecture, Rachel began twirling her pencil in her hand, a familiar tune starting up inside her head; reciting the lyrics mentally to herself. She sighed as the lesson ploughed on, her own thoughts straying, little by little, away from the class and onto other things. She couldn't quite explain it; which was frightening in of itself; but Rachel had found her thoughts turning to boys more and more often lately. She had seen Finn Hudson in the hallway the other day, and she could have sworn her heart swelled at the sight of him. As much as she tried to ignore it, every time she saw his figure, whether it was standing awkwardly by a locker, or cloaked in his football gear, Rachel had felt a twinge of something in her chest. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it was unusual, and it unnerved her. And nothing unnerved Rachel Berry.<p>

As the lesson ended, Rachel took her time collecting up her notes and stationery; allowing the rabble that was her classmates, to trudge out of the room first, before she exited out into the busy corridor herself, clutching her folder to her chest, her head held low as she wound her way through the many students who marched up and down the hallway. Part of her wished there was some kind of one-way system, so that she could traverse the halls without the threat of being bombarded and shoved into a locker. As she narrowly dodged the large body of a football player, as he practically ran down the hall, she didn't even notice the tall, dark and handsome stranger, who had just caught sight of her...

* * *

><p>As he took a break between his first two classes, Finn took a moment to check his phone; Puck was still MIA and hadn't contacted him in any way. It worried Finn a little; Puck was his best friend after all and even though he frequently played truant, he'd never neglected to mention to Finn what he was doing. He shrugged a little, trying to push the thought from his mind, as he wandered to his next class. The bell rang and Finn quickly shoved his way through the students now beginning to filter out and line the halls. As he did so, his peripheral vision caught the sight of a familiar face approaching him from the other end of the hallway; her body being almost unceremoniously thrown out of the way by an uncaring football player that Finn didn't recognize. He sighed as they passed one another. It was only once they'd passed one another had he decided to turn around and take a second look; studying her from behind. (And maybe just studying her behind...a little bit)<p>

He recognized the face and the hair; it was the girl from the math class he had had to attend the other week. He smirked as he carried on back down the corridor, his thoughts quickly being taken over by the _Diary girl, _who still plagued his mind daily. He quickly entered the classroom, his mind still abuzz with the thoughts of how he could possibly find more out about this mysterious girl.

* * *

><p>He finally spotted Puck just before lunch; his trademark Mohawk defining him as he ploughed, quite literally, through the crowd of students in the halls, towards Finn, who had been waiting at Puck's locker since the end of the last class. However, as Puck realised Finn was standing there, the muscular teen slowed his pace, and his once determined-looking face fell into a stern, yet tortured expression. He strolled up to Finn, seeming to avoid all eye contact.<p>

"Dude" Finn said, concerned; this was not normal Puck behaviour. "What's up?"

"Has Quinn talked to you yet?" Finn was slightly taken aback; Puck's usual rough-and-ready tone of voice was replaced by an almost fearful one.

"Uh-no? Why? Does she want to? Is she looking for me?" Finn asked, a slither of worrying coating his voice. Puck shook his head.

"Don't worry about it" Finn was taken aback even more. He stood there, silent, as Puck opened up his locker and started rifling through it, not saying a word or looking in Finn's direction. After a brief pause, Finn found his voice again;

"So we going to lunch?" Not wanting to push the subject any further, he gestured behind him with this thumb. Puck nodded, still avoiding Finn's gaze. Puck shut his locker and started to walk off at a pace, leaving Finn behind. Fortunately, his long legs meant he could quite easily keep up with Puck's strides.

As they walked towards the cafeteria, Puck remained uncharacteristically quiet, and he kept his gaze firmly focused downward. Finn may have been stupid when it came to most things, but his friendship with Puck was one thing Finn thought he had figured out. He could tell something was bothering Puck; and it must have been seriously bothering him, because he was never this quiet. Just as they entered the busy cafeteria, Finn stopped Puck in his tracks by placing a large hand on his shoulder.

"Dude, what's up? You're like, stupidly quiet and you sound like someone told you, that you were gonna die sometime soon? What's wrong man?" Finn tried to comfort his friend, hoping to weasel the information out of him.

"Don't bother" Puck shrugged off Finn's hand, his voice rising and getting seemingly angrier as he spoke. "I don't need you to worry about me. You need to worry about yourself first!" for the first time since he saw him at the locker, Puck looked up at the 6" teenager. Finn flinched a little, pulling his head back in surprise.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Finn's voice raised to match Puck's as they stared each other down, the tension in the air becoming ever thicker.

"It means-" Puck raised his voice even further, along with a fist, before he was stopped by the all-too familiar sound of Quinn.

"FINN!" She practically boomed, storming towards them from the other side of the cafeteria. Finn's eyebrows shot up on his face, and Puck looked equally as surprised; his fist slowly lowering to his side. Everyone in the cafeteria watched as Quinn lined herself up with her boyfriend, staring up at him with such malice in her eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest and continued to glare at him. Finn stared round, seeing the eyes of practically the entire school watching him as his girlfriend began to lay into him. "I've had enough Finn!" she spat, her voice low, but still audible due to the eerie silence of the cafeteria. "You've been ignoring me for weeks, and whenever we spend time together, you seem off in some other world!" She continued to eye him carefully as Finn scratched the back of his neck nervously. His gaze darted around erratically; looking from the tons of faces watching and, some sniggering, then at Puck, who was just speechless, and then to Quinn, who seemed almost vibrating with rage. Finn gulped and went to speak before Quinn cut in.

"There's someone else isn't there? I can tell. You seem happy and cheerful, and **not **when you're with me! You're distant and you don't hang around with your friends so much anymore! I knew it! I knew you'd be unfaithful!" She began to wave her hands in the air, almost comically. Finn raised his hands in defence, still watching the crowd cautiously.

"I'm not cheating on you Quinn! There is no one else! I swear!" She sighed heavily, and rolled her eyes in that all-too-familiar fashion.

"Don't lie, Finn. We all know you're terrible at it. Just admit it. You're seeing someone else!" Finn made a snap decision as his reserve crumbled under the intense gaze of everyone in the school. He bent down close to Quinn's face and whispered;

"Can we do this somewhere more...private? So we can talk about this?" He eyed her expression carefully, drawing his head back, ensuring not to invade her personal space for too long. She looked around at the cafeteria, and all the students quickly shifted their gaze to anywhere but the two lovers quarrelling. She slowly nodded, taking a deep breath.

"Fine" she barged past both him and Puck as she exited the cafeteria through a big set of double doors. Finn took one last look around the cafeteria before following after her, Puck, strangely, following behind.

* * *

><p>Rachel had decided she needed to freshen up before her next class, so she hopped up from her seat in the library, and made her way to the girl's bathroom. When inside, she was immediately met with the sound of two girls standing by the sinks and chatting excessively. <em>Do all the girls just come in here to gossip? <em>She thought as she settled on the farthest sink, checking herself in the mirror. The two girls were immediately identifiable as Cheerio's by their familiar costumes. Unlike the girl's in the AV club who Rachel had walked in on before, these two took no notice of the short brunette as she walked in, and continued to chat excitedly about something. It was when one name caught her attention that Rachel, stealthy, entered a cubicle and began to eavesdrop.

"Really?" One of the girls said.

"Yeah! Quinn Fabray!" the other responded. "She was shouting at her boyfriend in the cafeteria"

"Isn't she dating Finn Hudson?" Rachel perked up then, her ears listening so intently, she might have heard a pin drop.

Her mind whizzed for a little while, contemplating the fact that Finn Hudson, 'Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome' had been dating 'Barbie' the entire time she had been thinking about him. Part of her began to scream inside; an angry, possessive side that questioned why on earth he would want to date **her**. The other, however, reasoned, and put forth the idea that Quinn was rather beautiful, and she was popular, just like Finn. The two were bound to be an item. She continued to listen, hoping to hear something develop from the fact that Quinn had been shouting at Finn.

"Yeah! It was him and that Puckerman guy! They were in the cafeteria and she went all crazy on him! Telling him he wasn't spending any time with her and stuff!"

"No way!"

"Way!" Rachel had to stifle a laugh at the clichéd reaction.

"And she totally accused him of cheating on her!" Rachel gasped out loud, before clapping her hands to her mouth, in case the girls had heard her. They continued, so she assumed they didn't.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really! She totally throttled him! Just lost it! Then they left the cafeteria and we don't know what happened then! But Julie told me that Kayla told her that they might have broken up!" Rachel had to stifle as gasp then, and a small flutter in her heart made her tingle a little.

"Wow! So he's back on the market now?" the girl asked, which made Rachel tense in anticipation.

"I guess so. But I don't think you wanna go after that" the other girl lowered her voice so low that Rachel had to press her ear to the door to hear them. "I hear he's actually a bit of a dork. And after dating Quinn; I'm sure he's damaged goods" Both girls let out an almost witch-like cackle as they left the bathroom, allowing Rachel to escape the cubicle without being noticed. She stood by the sink, and looked at herself in the mirror. For some reason both her mind and her heart swirled with unidentifiable emotions that made her simultaneously excited and fearful. She had now found out that the boy she'd been crushing on (how could she deny it now!) had been dating her worst enemy. But now, he was single, because she had apparently broken up with him because she thought he was cheating. She would have laughed at the drama of it all, but the fact that, if the rumour was true, her judge of character seemed to be way off, made her incredibly down heartened. She gulped as she left the bathroom, her thoughts on Finn Hudson; the boy she once thought could have been the nicest boy she'd known, who was now rumoured to be a cheater and a liar. Rachel could have sworn a part of her heart ached at the realisation.

* * *

><p>"You're breaking up with me?" Strangely, it wasn't sadness that Finn was feeling at that point; it was more surprise. If he had been any smarter, he would have taken that as another clue that his relationship with Quinn was not a good one. Quinn sighed as she looked at him, the malice no longer in her face, but replaced with a feeling that Finn was unsure of. It almost looked like guilt.<p>

"Yes, I'm sorry Finn" she looked down at her feet, before sighing and looking back up at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. Finn was shocked; this is the first time he'd ever seen Quinn even close to tears.

"Ok" Finn choked out, to which Quinn raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Ok? Is that it? Ok? I'm breaking up with you? Breaking your heart, and all you have to say is 'ok'?" her voice raised an octave and the anger slowly started to filter back. Finn quickly searched for Puck, hoping to get some help, but the mohawked teen was nowhere to be found; he had disappeared once they had left the cafeteria. Finn rubbed the back of his neck before he started rambling.

"Well, yeah. I mean, I'm kinda sad and everything, cos we were like, a nice couple and stuff. I mean, I thought I loved you, but hell, even I was beginning to have doubts, and I was starting to think that maybe it was time for us to take a break or something, but now you beat me to it, which I guess means that there was something driving us apart, or something like that, so it wasn't' just me" Finn took a breath, trying to gauge Quinn's reaction. She didn't speak for a moment; she just stared at him, as if trying to judge him secretly.

"I'm seeing someone else" she blurted out. She seemed shocked at her own confession, but she didn't openly regret it. At that, Finn's eyes shot open wide, and his eyebrows disappeared completely into his hair.

"E-excuse me?" he stuttered, his brain still trying to register her words.

"I-I'm seeing someone. Or at least I saw someone...and will be, now that we're broken up" she let out a deep breath and stared back down at the floor. Suddenly Finn's peace was shattered and the anger he should have felt over the break-up bubbled up inside.

"So...so..." he stuttered, pointing from Quinn to down the hall, toward the cafeteria. "So all that? That, in the cafeteria...about me being the cheater..." he pointed to himself, his voice slowly rising in frustration. "...you accused **me** of being a cheater, when in fact; **you're **the one who's been cheating on **me!" **He was so angry now that Finn could have kicked a hole in the wall next to them. He tried to make sense of it, but every time he did, it just pushed him to feel even more frustrated.

"Finn, you have to understand! You were pulling away from me, and I couldn't bare it...I only did it..." Quinn's eyes filled with tears and she went to grasp Finn's arm as he shook his head in disbelief. He shrugged her off, his mind spinning. He clutched his head for a moment, staring into space before a question popped into his head and, before he knew it, out of his mouth.

"Who is he?" he asked between Quinn's apologetic sobs.

"Wha-what?" she asked, wiping the tears from her face. Finn just stared at her, his eyes almost soulless.

"Who is he? Who's the guy you cheated on me with?" She turned from his gaze then, looking down at the floor and she shook her head. "Tell me" he demanded. When she didn't respond he shouted louder; "Tell me!" she still remained steadfast, her silence slowly eating at Finn as she refused to answer the question he was dying to have answered. He didn't quite know what happened then, but he turned around quickly and his fist flew in the direction of the nearest wall; coming into contact with the cool metal of the nearest locker, making a loud bang that made Quinn flinch and, causing the locker door to dent excessively. The adrenaline pumping through his body and the emotional turmoil inside his heart prevented Finn from feeling any pain, but he could tell this was going to hurt later. Quinn looked practically terrified now, and her tears leaked down her face, unstoppable as she looked up at Finn's tortured expression. He could feel his own tears forming but he refused to let them shed. He made one last ditch attempt; "Tell me Quinn! Who is he?"

She stared at him a moment before letting out another deep breath, as if preparing to take the plunge.

"It's Puck"

As the word's left her mouth, Finn's entire body seemed to disappear and his mind frazzled with confusion, doubt, anger and sadness. The emotions were so mixed and so extensive, he couldn't quite form coherent words. A few tears escaped down his face, but he couldn't care about them. As his heart beat in his ears, he could hear the muffled sounds of Quinn trying to explain herself, but it was no use; she had sealed the deal. They were broken up, and he no longer had a best friend. He swallowed hard, his eyes unfocused, looking down the hallway. Then, as if without any conscious thought, he ran. Leaving Quinn in his tracks, he ran down the hall, not entirely sure where he was going or what his mission was, but he knew the outcome. He could feel it in his veins.

* * *

><p>Rachel's mind was still whirring around Finn Hudson as she made her way back to the library. She had once believed that she could know people, just by looking at them. It had been a gift from birth that she originally assumed was psychic abilities. She didn't tell anyone though; she didn't want even more reason for people to avoid her. Instead, she used her 'powers' to her advantage. It helped her determine who she could befriend and who she should be wary of. Of course, it didn't always work like that, because you need 'two to tango'; and whoever she picked to be the best 'friend' material, generally didn't reciprocate the feelings. But now, she was beginning to doubt her own feelings as she tried to figure out whether it would be possible for Finn Hudson to be a cheater. Granted, she didn't know the boy at all; other than the few words they'd exchanged during her math lesson; but she still felt a strange connection to him that made the whole situation even more intense. For the first time since that day, Rachel recalled their 'conversation'. She reimagiend their conversation, considering how different he had acted in comparisson with his neanderthal friends; he had seemed so nice and wholesome when they spoke. He didn't insult her or hit on her as most guys did. He had been admirable; he had tried to make her feel more comfortable, as she knew she clearly looked at the time. He had even asked for her help, in a sense, and confessed his own confusion at the work. That was a sign of weakness, and guys never normally admit that they're wrong or that they don't know things. Rachel wondered if he had intended to say it, but her thoughts were soon shaken when the bell rang for the end of lunch. Soon enough, the familiar sound of students filling the halls echoed around her, and Rachel decided to make her way to her next lesson quickly; still trying to deduce if her assumption of Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome was correct.<p>

* * *

><p>He reached his destination in no time, and he had no idea what drew him there; to the gym locker rooms. He slowed his pace as he approached the door, slightly out of breath, but still with enough to carry out his next task. He stood outside the door for what seemed like hours, trying to consider what he was about to do. But his brain was far too concerned over the mental images of the two of them together, and it only worked to infuriate him more.<p>

He slowly pushed the door open and he could hear the unmistakeable sound of someone cluttering around in one of the lockers. Practice wasn't until the end of the day, so he knew it must have been who he was here to see. He slowly made his way through the room, sneaking round the lockers until the sound grew louder. Taking a breath and preparing himself for what he was about to do, Finn rounded the corner to see Puck standing by his locker, fiddling with some deodorant. Puck turned to look at Finn, and his expression didn't even have a chance to change before Finn's fist flew at his face, landing hard and fast on the bridge of Puck's nose; a crack was almost audible.

That should have been enough, but something in Finn took control and all his inhibitions and previous concerns were taken over by a primal urge to beat Puck down into pulp. So he did. The same fist flew again, hitting Pucks right eye as he nursed his nose. Soon enough the fists flew so quickly and erratically that the teen with the mohawk had no choice but to fall to the ground. He should have stopped then, but Finn kept punching, Puck's arms protecting his face as Finn lay into him with all his might. If he could have seen himself, he would have almost been disgraced; blood on his knuckles, a look in his eye that was almost beast-like in nature as his fist flew continually at any area it could reach. Puck's screams of mercy fell on deaf ears as Finn let all the anger and rage channel through him. The betrayal, the hatred, the heartache. It was all that fuelled Finn's vendetta. He would never have stopped beating Puck had it not been for the shouts of screams of someone in the distance, one of them female, and the strange sensation of several people pulling him away from Puck's cowering body.

* * *

><p><strong>P.S.<strong> _I don't know how you like my Puck writing in this chapter, but I wanted to show that Puck was actually resentful about his 'relationship' with Quinn; I've always liked the friendship between Finn and Puck, even if it has been a rocky one, and I kind of wanted to show that they both really cared for each other. They **are** best friends after all!_  
><em>And I know Finn seems pretty aggressive nearer the end of this chapter, but this was partly me writing what I've always wanted to see (I'm a sucker for a proper fist fight) and partlty how I saw Finn laying into Puck in the episode 'Sectionals' (you must admit, Finn was pretty damn angry!) I hope it's not too violent for you, but it is relevant; it's to show that Finn still had feelings for Quinn, and still felt betrayed, even if he was straying from her.<em>  
><em>Plus, you'll notice I'm slowly building Rachel's feelings up for Finn. I hope it's believable and I hope this hasn't gone too OOC in the process.<em>

_Thanks very much! Keep reading and keep reviewing!_


	8. Chapter 8

**Note: **_I'm sorry for the long wait! I've been swamped with work and I lost my motivation somewhere. It's back though! So don't panic! _  
><em>Hope you enjoyed the last chapter! Now Quinn and Puck are out of the way; there's nothing stopping Finn finding the diary girl!<em>  
><em>I did have some trouble with tenses in this chapter, so I apologise if it seems to jump; I did try to fix it.<em>

* * *

><p>He doesn't register Mr. Schuester's shouts or Quinn's scream until he's been pulled right off of Puck and out into the hallway. He shook off whoever still had a grasp on him and stood up straight; his breathing erratic and his mind buzzing with adrenaline. Slowly, his focus returned and he saw Mike Chang and Matt Rutherford, from the football team, standing by him; looks of shock and guilt, etched into their faces as they avoid looking right at him. Finn doesn't say anything, and is tempted to just make a run for it, but he's stopped by the emergence of Mr. Schuester and Quinn, from the locker room, supporting a bleeding Puck. Finn had to hold back any more anger as he watched the two of them together; his ex-best friend and his ex-girlfriend. She avoided looking at him at all, but the mohakwed teen took a chance and glanced up, no expression on his face, but guilt in his eyes; Finn had done a pretty bad job on his face; his right eye was starting to turn a heavy shade of purple and there was blood pouring profusely from his nose, right down his shirt. For a moment, Finn almost felt guilty. He had to look away as Mike and Matt helped Puck off to the nurse's office, followed swiftly by Quinn. Meanwhile, Mr. Schuester approached him and placed a tentative hand on his shoulder.<p>

"Come with me" is all he said before he led Finn back to his office.

Once there, and sat before his Spanish teacher, Finn broke down. The tears he had once been fighting to hold in burst forth as he gripped his head in agony. The emotion was almost too much to bear as his mind whirred on the thoughts of Quinn and Puck together. Mr. Schuester didn't say anything as Finn physically and emotionally crumbled before him. After a good few minutes, Finn finally felt like he'd had enough and his eyes had run dry. He glanced up at his teacher, whose face said more than his mouth ever could. He didn't question anything; he didn't even berate Finn for physically assaulting another student. He just pulled a sympathetic smile and said;

"I'm sorry Finn" He gently nodded before continuing. "Would you like to go home?" Finn didn't know what to do, but he knew that if he saw the two of them together again, he was sure to lose it again. So he nodded timidly, rubbing his eyes and nose with his sleeve. Mr. Schuester nodded back as he reached for the phone; he called up the main reception and told them that Finn Hudson was going to be absent from his afternoon lessons. Once he'd put down the phone, he turned to Finn again; "Would you like me to call your mom?" Finn shook his head.

"No, she'll be at work. I think I'll just walk home" Mr Schue pulled a small, somewhat comforting smile, before standing up and escorting Finn to his locker.

Soon enough, they both stood at the main entrance of the school, Finn still trying to calm his breathing and Mr Schue still being comfortingly quiet.

"Thanks Mr Schue" Finn managed to whimper out. The teacher just nodded and waved him off as Finn began his slow walk home.

He knew he could make it home in no time if he picked up his pace, but he couldn't quite manage it today. His mind flooded with the thoughts of Quinn and of Puck, and of them together. He felt stupid for not realising it sooner; the way they were in the cafeteria, Puck's weird mood; there were signs everywhere. He was just too stupid to notice them. He cursed himself for not being smart enough to figure it out. The realisation came to him then; he now had no best friend and no girlfriend. The thought caused a lonely feeling to start bubbling up inside him. Strangely, his lonely thoughts turned him to his memories of the _diary girl, _whose journal still lay beneath his bed back home. He understood even more now, how lonely that girl must have felt, or is feeling. He sympathised with her situation, and as he thought about her, he could feel himself slowly growing warm, for what felt life the first time in since the betrayal.

* * *

><p>Once home, he distracted himself with food; scoffing down whatever he could get his hands on; grilled cheese, pop tarts, even some old casserole that he could have sworn was starting to go mouldy. He just wanted to keep his mind away from those-who-must-not-be-named. Even the thought of having to go back to school tomorrow, and see them there, made his fists clench and the anger begin to bubble up again. To try and keep his mind from straying, he ran up the stairs and dag under his bed to pull out the diary. For everything that was going on in his life, the girl in the diary was a little comfort that he was hugely grateful for. In that moment, he forgot that he didn't actually know this girl and, instead, imagined she was a friend he could rely on and 'listen' to. He skipped through and found the latest unread entry.<p>

_Tuesday 6__th__ April_

_Dear Barbara,_

_I'm an idiot Barbara. A stupid, silly, idiot. I'm just a little girl who has no idea how to handle herself. How could I have been so stupid in thinking a senior like Mr. Perfect, could possibly want anything to do with a junior like me? How could I embarrass myself so much by acting so childish and stupid?_

Finn could see the writing had been scrawled quickly, and parts of the paper were dotted with circular creases, which Finn could only assume were caused by tears.

_I won't go into detail because I do NOT want to relive that memory; but let's just say I'll be changing my dance lessons to another day from now on. I'm too embarrassed to go back to him. To see that face. Those eyes. And to hear that laugh; that horrid, ego-crushing laugh. I've had enough humiliation in my life, without adding that to my memories._

_I can't believe I could have been so naive to think he actually took an interest in me! I knew it was too good to be true! But why did he have to be so cruel about it? God! I wish I could pay him back somehow. Throw some eggs at him or something. Flour him. Puncture the tyres on his fancy black land-rover. TP his house. Shave off all of that beautifully curly hair. Oh, who am I kidding? I don't have the guts to do any of that. I may be a drama queen, but I don't purposefully go around being mean to people. Then I'd be just as bad as Barbie or Satan. And I don't want anything to do with them. With ANY of them!_

_I guess I have to deal with the fact that I'm going to alone. It's inevitable; my confidence and talent is just too much for people to bear. I will have to go it alone until I make it big. That's the price you pay for stardom. _

_So I guess it's just you and me Barbara! To the top!_

_Goodnight x_

Suddenly, Finn felt strangely comforted. Reading about the _Diary girl's _trauma and her confession of loneliness made him feel even more sympathetic; he was in the same situation. Alone and humiliated. Just then, his mind buzzed with determination and excitement. He **had **to find this girl. He had been trying so hard lately, but now it was his sole purpose. He no longer had any distractions to take his mind off the diary; no girlfriend, no best friend. He was completely and utterly dedicated to finding the _Diary girl _and sharing what he'd learnt of her. As the rest of his reality appeared to crumble around him, he just wanted to cling to something; and the _diary girl_ just happened to be there. He wanted to find her; find her and befriend her and somehow help her take him away from the nightmare that his life had become. Of course, he kind of hoped she wouldn't think he was weird or rude for reading her diary, but he shook that thought from his mind; he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

* * *

><p>Rachel sat at home, writing animatedly on a thick pad of lined paper. Despite the nagging feeling in her mind that told her she didn't want to do it, she had to get this paper finished by tomorrow. It was only a measly essay; 1,000 words at the most; but she was determined to get it done before tomorrow. Albeit, it is not unusual for Rachel to be so determined and enthusiastic about her homework, but this dedication was not down to pressure from teachers, or to uphold good grades; instead, the pressure stemmed from a need to distract herself from one Finn Hudson, who had been plaguing her mind relentlessly since lunch.<p>

She had once fallen into the trap of becoming 'hooked' on a guy, and the history of that should have been enough to scare her off her current crush that was slowly developing for the McKinley High Quarterback. But unfortunately for Rachel, she couldn't quite shake the feeling; there was something about the boy that seemed to draw her to him. As she quickly scribbled the last line of her essay she sighed heavily and planted her head on the desk in exasperation. Now, with no distractions, her thoughts began to whirl around Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome, and each time she kept coming to the same conclusion; _He is not a cheater. _She didn't know how she could possibly know this, but something inside told her that Finn Hudson was a good boy, and he would be perfect boyfriend material; he would never cheat.  
>And that of course led Rachel's thoughts to Queen Bee, Quinn Fabray. She may have seemed like the victim from what she heard in the girl's bathroom, but Rachel had a sneaky suspicion that the celibate cheerleader was more than responsible for whatever happened between her and Finn. She couldn't know for sure, but she definitely had a feeling that she would be the one more likely to cheat.<p>

* * *

><p>Rachel's suspicions turned out to be true the next day in school; she was standing by her locker when she heard a couple of the junior's discussing the subject. Being as accomplished as she was at eavesdropping, she hung around her locker, and listened intently to the conversation, intrigued to find out what exactly happened between Finn and Quinn.<p>

"So, the rumour is, that she cheated on him, but tried to make out that it was him who cheated on her!" a male voice said, which Rachel recognised as Kurt Hummel from one of her classes.

"Oh my god!" a female voice replied; Mercedes Jones; also a fellow classmate.

"And that's not the best of it! I heard a rumour from the mouth of Jacob Ben-Israel himself that she cheated on him...with Puckerman!" Rachel almost gasped aloud as Kurt spoke. Rachel knew who Puckerman was; it's hard not too when his reputation precedes him. The guy with the Mohawk was a bit of a bad boy, but even Rachel never thought of him to be the kind of guy who cheated. Especially considering that Finn was his best friend, or so it seemed.

As she thought about it, allowing the information to whirl around inside her head, she breathed a subtle sigh of relief. Despite how bad she felt for Finn, she was glad her suspicions had been correct; Quinn was the cheater, and now the poor boy she'd been crushing on, was probably alone, hurt and depressed. Or at least, that's how she imagined him to be; that's how Rachel would be if it were who had been cheated on. Her imagination began to stir, as it often did when she thought about him, and she couldn't help but picture herself as Finn Hudson's girlfriend. She smiled at the thought, but real life, of course, would not let that happen. She may have developed a spark of hope that Finn was newly single, now that his bitch of a girlfriend was out of the picture, but Rachel knew that it would be even more difficult to get to him; considering how hurt he must be. She collected her stuff from her locker and made her way to her next lesson; allowing her imagination to return to the scenario where she was the one replacing Quinn as the object of Finn's affections.

* * *

><p>He hadn't eaten that morning, and he had been beginning to develop a buzzing feeling in his head. But Finn couldn't care less. He stumbled into school, not caring about the looks or the whispers that people gave him. He could've guessed that the story would have traversed the school, but he hadn't bet on it happening this quickly. He traipsed to his locker, feeling thoroughly rotten about the whole situation. Albeit, he probably didn't look any different from the outside, but inside, there was an inner turmoil that made him tired and lethargic. He'd spent most of his time running the whole story through his head, trying to come up with some explanation for it all; which of course he never found. After all that, he felt practically drained, both physically and emotionally. He walked up to his locker, unlocked it, and rooted around inside. As he opened his rucksack to put away some of his textbooks, his eyes caught a glimpse of something pink from within the depths of his bag. As he pulled it out, his expression changed immediately. The <em>Diary girl's <em>diary. He'd almost forgotten that he had packed it today; he'd decided to take it to school in a moment of inspiration to provide an incentive for him to keep on searching. He considered it for a moment, as he stared at the pink cover, with the gold lettering, before quickly shoving it back in his bag, closing the locker and hurrying down the hall.

* * *

><p>That lunch time, Finn found himself looking on a familiar sight; he stood outside the AV club meeting room, a determined look on his face, and the diary in his bag, clutched close to him. He entered the classroom, expecting to be bombarded with dirty looks and the whisperings of nerds, as he had been the first time round, but was surprised to find the room was in fact, almost empty and eerily quiet. He stared around, taking in the number of people there were, which were few.<em> Have I come on the wrong day? <em>He thought as he slowly walked further into the room. He stood awkwardly by a computer for a moment, before a small boy in a wheelchair rolled up to him. Finn looked down at the kid, who can't have been much older than a Freshman. The boy pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose as he cleared his throat, looking up at Finn, who felt like a giant in comparison to him.

"Um, Can I help you?" he muttered, a trickle of fear evident in his tone. Finn tried to pull a smile, knowing full well that his height would probably make him look hugely intimidating. He cleared his own throat before speaking;

"Uh, yeah. I was wondering if you could help me. I'm looking for someone" The boy looked around the room nervously, before turning his attention back onto Finn.

"Um. Ok. Like who?" He questioned, fidgeting with the straps on his driving gloves. Finn scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"Well that's the thing, I don't really know..." Artie raised an eyebrow, his resolve becoming a little braver. Finn continued. "I'm trying to find the owner of this diary" he pulled the pink book out of his bag and showed it to the boy, who took it in his hands and studied it, as if looking for some hidden clue that might be revealed on the cover. He nodded, as if to himself, before returning the book to Finn. The boy looked back up at him.

"Ok. Let's see what we can do" He pulled a genuine smile before turning around and wheeling in the direction of the door. Finn let out a sigh of relief before slowly following the boy in the chair.

"I'm Finn, by the way. Finn Hudson" he said, eyeing the back of the wheelchair-boy's head.

"Artie. Artie Abrams" the boy replied, turning his chair to face Finn. He stuck out his hand, which Finn shook gladly.

* * *

><p>After a good half an hour, Finn and Artie had begun to get quite acquainted. They sat together in the library, pouring over some old yearbooks and chatting animatedly about anything and everything. Finn was surprised; he could get on quite well with Artie, even if he was a nerd in a wheelchair. It was strangely comforting having someone to talk too who was from outside his usual circle of friends. <em>Maybe Artie could be Puck's new replacement? <em>The very thought of his ex-best friend name caused his fists to clench up and his heart to ache. It would take a while to get over the hurt he was feeling, but somehow the _Diary girl _search was providing a much needed distraction. He let out a sigh and returned his attention to Artie, who was still talking to thin air; Finn had a feeling the kid was pretty happy about the whole situation; usually guys like Artie would be the target of some of Finn and Puckerman's lame pranks and nicknames, but instead, Finn had chosen to befriend the wheelchair-bound teen. It was strangely comforting; it felt like progress.

Finn finally snapped back to reality as Artie muttered something about clubs.

"So has this girl said she's part of any clubs? Every school club is in the Thunderclap and if she was in one in particular, that could lead us straight to her!" During their conversation, Finn had explained to Artie about the diary and the _Diary girl. _He had originally intended to be careful about what he revealed, but he found himself being rather open and honest with the disabled boy, which was surprising, considering he hardly knew the kid. Finn assumed it had something to do with the glasses; it made him more trusting, he thought. They'd quickly run through Finn's clue list, but Artie still had no idea what to make of them. They had been hoping to use the yearbooks as a way of finding the girl, but so far they'd come up with nothing.

Finn clapped a hand to his head in realisation.

"Of course" Yeah!" He exclaimed, picking out the diary and flicking through it quickly. "Here!" he pointed to a line in one of the older entries, where the _Diary girl _mentioned the renaissance club. Finn could feel the excitement build up inside him, the warm feeling he now associated with the _Diary girl _gradually taking over his chest. The feeling that, within seconds, he could find out the identity of this mystery author, was something he couldn't quite name or control, but it made it hard for him to sit still in his seat. Artie chuckled as he watched Finn bubble up in excitement.

"Ok, this is the Freshman yearbook from last year. Let's see...renaissance club..." Artie skimmed through the pages quickly, noticing the way Finn's eyes remained determined and unblinking on the pages of the yearbook. "Ah, here!" Artie exclaimed as he opened up the page.

However, Finn's face fell as he looked over the page. Yes, there was the quarter of a page dedicated to the Renaissance club, but where the faces of the individuals in the club should be, there was just a mass of scratches. There was no way neither Finn nor Artie could make out any of the faces on the page; it was hard to even determine how many people there were in the picture in the first place. Finn sat back on his seat and rubbed his face with his hands.

"So close" he whispered as Artie eyed the page carefully.

"There aren't even any names" Artie noted. "Why the hell would you be in the yearbook without having any names?" Finn sighed.

"It's the Renaissance club. I doubt very many people cared about who was in it"

_So close, yet so far. _Finn suddenly felt all the depression he'd been feeling since Quinn's confession come swooping back over him; the loneliness, the hopelessness, the general feeling that nothing will ever go right. He'd lost his girlfriend, his best friend, and now he couldn't even find this one girl. Albeit, he was probably overreacting, but Finn just couldn't summon the enthusiasm anymore. He was grateful for Artie's help, but it was clear he was never going to find this _diary girl. _Not now. Not ever.

* * *

><p>She was surprised to see her walk through the corridor during lunch; her head held high, as if she hadn't done anything wrong. Rachel was never one to judge, but she couldn't help it when it came to Quinn. Especially considering what she'd done to that poor Finn Hudson. Despite how she held herself, she could tell that something was bothering the Queen Bee; she never even glanced at Rachel; neglecting to say anything about her "man hands" or her nose. In fact, she seemed as if she was just staring into space as she traversed the halls, ignoring the stares and whispers from the kids lining the walls and standing by their lockers.<p>

Rachel let out a sigh as they passed one another. The fact that Quinn ignored her was a small miracle, and Rachel was glad; maybe now the cheerleader would actually leave her alone. Then again, she thought, now that she's been hurt she might be even worse. _They do say; 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' _and Rachel didn't like the idea of a scorned Quinn Fabray. She shook the thought away and instead, let her mind flash with images of Finn. As she did so, she felt a warm feeling grow up within her chest, and it made a wide grin stretch across her face, despite herself.

* * *

><p>Finn had done enough crying lately, he refused to do it now. Instead, he let his frustrations out on his pillow; pummelling it until he no longer had the energy to do so. He'd told his mom all about the QuinnPuck drama that afternoon, after school, and she'd been pretty calm about the situation; which made Finn feel even worse. It was like she knew it was going to happen. She was comforting, but she didn't seem surprised. So of course, that had made Finn feel stupid for not realising it sooner.

As he lay on his bed, his face buried in his battered pillow, part of him hoped he could just sleep for days until all of the drama passed. But of course, that was never going to happen; Finn wasn't that lucky. Instead, he hauled himself up and out of bed and moved over to his Xbox to start his usual afternoon ritual. As he did so, he caught his foot on his rucksack, almost toppling him over. He managed to regain his balance, but not before swearing loudly and giving the bag a good kick. The bag flew across the room and its contents poured onto the floor; the pink diary being part of them. Finn stood for a moment, glancing down at the small journal that had slowly become an obsession over the last few weeks. He could've blamed the diary for his break-up with Quinn, but Finn knew that was just finding excuses; even without the diary, something would've gone wrong. It might not have been cheating, but something would've caused him and Quinn to break up. He bent down and picked up the book, sighing to himself as he flipped through the pages. He thought for a moment, knowing full well that he was probably never going to find the mysterious author who so eluded him, but something inside of him still drew him to her. This mysterious _Diary girl_. So, as one last-ditch attempt, he hopped onto his bed and flicked to an entry, and began reading.

_Friday 9__th__ April_

_Dear Barbara,_

_We had to write about our passions and our dreams in English class today. A trivial task, if you ask me, but one that I found relatively easy. I suppose I've never really told you about my passions before Barbara; you know my dreams, and you know my love of music, but my true passion; the thing I love to do the most...is to sing. Singing is my one true hobby in life, and I feel it's the thing that is going to lead me to my inevitable stardom. I know, one day, I'm going to be just like you Barbara. Well, not like you as in the journal, but you as in the singer/actress/idol that you're named after; Barbara Streisand. There are a lot of similarities between me and Barbara. We're both Jewish, we both have similarly large noses, we both have amazing voices. It's almost as if I was destined to follow in her footsteps. And that's exactly what I plan to do! I'm going to be so famous that all those horrid cheerleaders and football players will know my name and they would wish that they had befriended me in high school...rather than call me names or pour slushies over my head._

_Of course, it's never going to be easy getting to that stardom; it wasn't for Barbara, and it definitely won't be for me. But I'll make it. I know it. I can feel it. Of course, It doesn't help that my school doesn't have a decent musical program. Apparently there used to be a Glee club, but that was disbanded before I joined. I really wish it hadn't; I could see myself excelling at Glee club. Then again, I'd probably just get hounded even more by jealous wannabe's who can't handle my talent. No, it's enough for me to just get good grades and graduate in two years time, and then go onto a college in another state. Maybe New York? That's the home of Broadway, and the place I'm bound to end up. As they say, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere!_

_It's funny though, Barbara. We don't have a decent musical program, but yet we have an auditorium. I suppose that was for when they used to have a Glee club, but it doesn't really get much use anymore. I think our Principal rents it out actually; I could've sworn I saw an Alcoholics Anonymous group in there the other week. It's actually one of my favourite haunts, the auditorium. Sometimes, when our neighbours start complaining, I practice my singing in there during lunch. No one ever visits, and the acoustics are perfect. I just wish there was more of an audience to listen..._

Finn stopped dead. Looking up from the diary and staring into space, a huge grin appeared on his face. That warm feeling from before washed over him like a tidal wave and mixed with the excitement and hope that bubbled up inside of him. The _Diary girl _had just revealed a vital clue...now all Finn had to do was find the auditorium...

* * *

><p><strong>P.S.<strong> _Oh! So here we are! Getting closer to the end now! The penultimate clue! Will Finn finally find the mysterious Diary Girl that has plagued his mind? And will Rachel's daydreams come true as she finally ends up with Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome? Stay tuned to find out!_

_Hope you liked this chapter, my inspiration went walkabout and I hadn't got it back until now. So I hope it's worthy! And I want to know if you think Finn seems distraught enough? I've read angsty fics before, and this didn't seem quite as bad as some of those. I honestly didn't want Finn to be **too **sad about the whole thing, but it was a pretty messy situation, and there had to be some kind of resentment and sadness there. Is there enough here, or too much? Opinions always welcome!_


	9. Chapter 9

**Note: **_I'm **so** sorry that it's been almost two weeks; I've been swamped with work and I haven't had the time to get it all done in one sitting, as I usually do. However, I definetly feel like this is worth it. So please don't hate me too much. Possibly the longest chapter, but worth its length in gold methinks..._

_Thanks to** EVERY SINGLE ONE **of you who reviewed! I love them! And they inspire me to write more, so thank you!_  
><em>So the general opinion is that a lot of people think Finn's reaction was too much. And I must apologise for that. I guess I was just writing some of the violence that I would have liked to have seen in the show. Or something to that affect. I may consider editing things here and there, but otherwise the main storyline, which is Finchel, should be unaffected.<em>

_So here it is. The final chapter before the epilogue; Finn finally meets Rachel. And the mysterious Diary Girl finally meets Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome._

* * *

><p>It took almost all day for Finn to find out the location of the auditorium. He neglected to ask any of the students, but instead, he considered it better to run through the halls sporadically looking for the right place. In hindsight, this was probably not his best plan, as he was no closer to finding the auditorium as it came to the end of the school day. He'd practically given up on his search when he passed the reception desk for the umpteenth time and a sudden thought struck his mind. Cursing his own lack of common sense, he approached the desk where the elderly receptionist sat, staring at a newspaper. Finn cleared his throat.<p>

"Excuse me?" he muttered, noticing how his freakish height seemed to make him loom over the desk. The woman looked up, and startled a little bit at his appearance. She collected herself before replying.

"Yes, what is it?" her tone was a little agitated, and she looked at Finn as if he had just disturbed her in the midst of something very important. He scratched his head nervously.

"Um, I was wondering if, uh, you could tell me where the auditorium is?" his gaze shifted a little as he asked and his voice dropped low to avoid the students behind him from hearing. The woman raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"The auditorium?" Finn nodded. She sighed before leaning over the desk and pointing. "You go down this hall, turn left..."

Finn listened as the woman dictated a rather intricate set of directions, not taking the courtesy to speak slowly or make sure he'd understood it. He tried his best to remember exactly what she had said, but he had a sinking feeling that he'd soon get lost.

"...and there are two sets of doors that lead to either side of the auditorium" she huffed, before sitting back down. Finn scratched his head again, looking nervously in the direction she had directed.

"Um. Ok. Thanks" he muttered before starting off down the hall, not entirely confident in where he was going.

As the pupils of the school slowly started to dissipate, Finn found himself delving deeper into the reaches of the school; noting how eerie it seemed without anyone here. Of course, he'd been in school after hours before, but generally he was accompanied by the football team or that one time when he'd snuck in one night to, unsuccessfully, TP Sue Sylvester's office, with Puck. Finn still felt a sting when it came to his ex-best friend; it was something that would take some time to recover from, but he was learning to control his temper about it.  
>As he traversed the halls, trying, in vain, to follow the directions of the moody receptionist, Finn's mind began to build in excitement over the prospect of what awaited him at the end of his search; the <em>diary girl. <em>The girl whom Finn had slowly grown to know over the past few weeks; the girl he seemed to have formed a connection with, and learnt so much about, despite the fact he'd never actually met her. It was the girl he'd hope would be waiting for him so that he could finally put a face to the thoughts. He didn't entirely know what drew him to her, or what exactly he would want from her when he did finally find her; a friendship, a relationship? He didn't really know. He just knew he wanted to find this girl; to meet her and talk to her; to return her diary and tell her she's the most interesting girl he's ever read about. Even if she does slap him and tells him he's a pervert or a jerk for reading her diary...

He finally found the doors to the auditorium at the end of a long corridor. With a rush of excitement and anticipation, he ran down the hall and through the doors, spreading them wide in an over-dramatic fashion, expecting the _diary girl _to be standing there, waiting for him. But of course, as was Finn's luck, he was disappointed. Instead, he was met with a pitch black room that echoed with the bang of the doors as they swung open and hit the wall. He should have guessed really; this wasn't a fairytale, or one of those sappy romance movies; he wasn't just going to magically find her and live happily ever after. Plus, he had neglected to remember that she had said she liked to sing in the auditorium at lunch, not after school. Finn sighed as he slumped out of the room. _I'll just have to try tomorrow lunch time._

* * *

><p>It was just another day for Rachel Berry as she mulled over the usual turn of events of the day; an insult here, a slushie there; things were still the same. As she sat in her bedroom, cuddled up in bed, for the first time in days, her thoughts turned back to her journal and <em>'Barbara'<em>, which she'd usually write in on and 'talk' to on days like this. She no longer felt sad about the whole issue, having accepted her loss; but a part of her was still curious as to where exactly the little pink book disappeared to. She'd not heard any rumours around school, so she could safely assume that her diary still remained anonymous, but what she wasn't sure of, was whether or not someone possessed it, or whether it had just been lost in the midst of random clutter that often got thrown away. She'd been to the lost and found at school during the first week the journal had gone missing, and the only things she had found there were several old unnamed test papers and a book on American History with half the pages missing. But of course, that's what she had expected; no one ever put anything into the lost and found; 'finder's keepers' was somewhat of an unwritten and unspoken rule among most of the pupils, so if you lost something; you definitely lost it. There was no getting it back. And so Rachel had pretty much accepted the fact that she'd never get back her diary. That was a small comfort to her when she thought about it. She would rather it still be in existence, and in the hands of some random individual, rather than mixed with a load of other trash and dumped on a landfill site somewhere.  
>She sighed as she fiddled with the buttons on her pyjamas, the TV echoing in the background. It was another lonely night and she missed the feeling of having something, or someone to talk to. Even if it was an inanimate object like a diary.<p>

* * *

><p>Every day. Every day for a week, during his lunch break, Finn found himself sitting in an empty auditorium. For the first couple of days, he ate lunch on the run; grabbing it from the cafeteria and then wolfing it down as he made his way to the auditorium; but now he had taken to packing a lunch from home and bringing it with him, much to his mother's astonishment. But with each day and each visit to the auditorium, he was unsuccessful in finding the <em>Diary girl; <em>he spent most of the lunch hour sitting on the seats and eating his grilled cheese alone. The lack of an appearance of the fabled _diary girl_ was slowly starting to make his resolve and enthusiasm dissipate. At first Finn thought it was because she'd probably be busy. Then Finn tried to reason that she can't have visited the auditorium **every **lunch, because she liked to hang out in the library sometimes too. But each day, for a week, even with excuses, he couldn't fight the slow sinking feeling in his stomach. He had to admit that the feeling was getting uncomfortably familiar; the excitement of getting so close to something, and then having it ripped away from you. It hurt. A lot. And mixed with the still-very-raw pain of his ex-girlfriend's betrayal, the feelings were not some of his favourites.

* * *

><p>It was a Friday; a week after he'd found out about the auditorium and the <em>Diary girl's <em>love of singing. He walked into school as normal, still a little down heartened about his lack of progress, but not yet ready to show it to everyone around him. Even if he didn't care for it, Finn still had a reputation to uphold, and he didn't want the whole school to think of him as some kind of wimp after the whole Quinn/Puck catastrophe; he wanted to show that he was over it, and he was stronger than that, even if it still hurt a little inside.  
>He walked up to his locker, opened it and began to fiddle around inside, pulling books out and putting them in his bag. He still kept the diary on him; it never really left his side anymore; so it remained in his rucksack constantly, which in turn, never left his sight. Plus, he needed it with him so he'd be able to return the diary when or <strong>if <strong>he actually met the _diary girl. _As he jumbled some of the stuff around inside his locker, he didn't notice the small brunette pass him in the hallway...

* * *

><p>He hadn't been on her mind since yesterday, and even then, it had been a while since Rachel had actually seen him in the flesh; he seemed to miraculously disappear during lunches, and he often seemed rushed if she ever saw him at his locker. But during those brief moments when she did see Finn, she couldn't help but clutch her chest as a warm feeling grew around her. There was no denying her crush on Finn, but she'd managed to rein in her thoughts and feelings enough so that it wasn't outwardly obvious. She sometimes spotted him in the halls, and from what she saw, Rachel had a feeling that the boy was starting to recover; he didn't seem so sad or depressed anymore. It was like he had some other motive to achieve; something to distract him from his situation with Quinn and Puck.<p>

As for them, the offenders in question, Rachel hadn't seen much of them either. At least not together. Quinn had pranced around school with her head held high, as usual, and Puckerman retained his usual bad-boy attitude; he'd been responsible for more than one slushie attack on Rachel since the drama started, much to her chagrin. She would have used his betrayal as a retort, but she didn't particularly like the idea of drawing too much attention to herself. And any mention of it would probably give the Neanderthal with the Mohawk a greater motive to slushie her more frequently, which she obviously did **not** want. Instead, Rachel took all of the slushie attacks in her stride, as she often did; she was far too used to it by now. However she couldn't help but think of Finn each time the issue seemed to arise in her mind. She didn't know exactly how he must have been feeling, but she could make assumptions, and her heart went out to him.

Of course, the whole debacle came back to mind when she saw him again on one Friday morning, as he stood by his locker. She held her books clutched close to her chest; a precautionary measure for potential slushie attacks; as he was busying about at his locker. She glanced at him as she passed, and every time her eyes caught a glimpse of his face, her heart seemed to skip a little, and a small part of her just wanted to walk right up to him and talk to him. That, of course, could never happen though, because Rachel was far from popular enough to associate with Finn Hudson, even if he was single and hurting. She sighed as she continued down the hallway, taking a second to glance back at him in all his glory, before returning her gaze to her feet and walking into the classroom.

* * *

><p>Finn didn't see her at first; his attention had been drawn on the book in his hands, which just so happened to be the diary. He'd been reading some more of the entries lately, trying to build a greater picture of his <em>Diary girl. <em>The sound of her clearing her throat was enough to snap him out of his trance as he looked up from the diary. He almost shot back in surprise at who was stood in front of him; Quinn, dressed in her usual Cheerios uniform. She looked at him, her face expressionless as always, eyes trained on his and filled with an emotion that Finn couldn't place; not that he ever could. He cleared his throat, before pulling himself back up to his full height; as much as he wanted to run at this point, he wasn't going to let Quinn scare him; not anymore. She spoke first.

"Finn" she started. "We need to talk" Finn sighed, knowing full well where this conversation was going to go, but he wouldn't have it. He needed to put his foot down. For once.

"I'm sorry Quinn" he said, staining to keep his voice calm. "There is no need to talk. What's done is done" he nodded, as if to himself, trying to indicate that that was the end of the conversation. But of course, this was Quinn, and she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.

"No Finn" she motioned a palm to him to stop him from walking off, her voice typically calm and well reserved. "There is definitely a need to talk. About everything. About me. You. Puck" Finn cringed. "We need to sort this all out" Finn shook his head.

"There's nothing to sort out Quinn!" his voice raised a little, but not enough that it seemed like he was shouting. "There is nothing that you could say or do, that could make what you and Puck did, right! Yes, I was having doubts about us, but that doesn't mean I still didn't care for you. And you just walked right over all of that. And if you don't mind, I'd like to go now, and move on with my life, without having all this to worry about" he waved his hand in the air, gesturing to her, before storming off. Luckily for him, Quinn made no effort to follow, and simply remained still, staring into space. Once he had reached a safe distance, Finn breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed his face with his hands, a weight seemingly lifted from his shoulders.

* * *

><p>It had all happened so fast, that Rachel didn't even have enough time to react. She had been walking to lunch, casually observing her nails and noticing they were in need of a manicure, when she had accidentally bumped into Quinn, unceremoniously causing the blonde to topple to the floor. In hindsight, Rachel would have thought it dramatic for the Cheerio to fall over as she did, but she didn't really want to point it out to her. It was unintentional, of course, but Quinn didn't seem to see it like that. As she stood up, brushing off her Cheerio's uniform, Rachel noticed how her face flushed red and her eyes filled with an intense emotion that made Rachel nervous; she almost seemed to vibrate with rage as she stood in the hallway. Rachel stuttered a few words of apologies, but Quinn just screamed, and before she knew it, Rachel was being bombarded with insult after insult. The usual "man-hands" and "stubbles" were replaced with harsh words that Rachel would never repeat, as well as a seemingly well-rehearsed lecture based around why Rachel would never get a boyfriend and why she was such a loser. Quinn didn't lay a hand on Rachel the entire time she stood there and berated her, but the words seemed to cause more harm than any physical injury ever could. Rachel struggled to hold her resolve as a crowd began to gather around them.<p>

After an immeasurable amount of time, Quinn huffed, her breathing erratic and her eyes glazed over with rage. Seemingly having enough of the small brunette in front of her, she turned away from Rachel and stormed off in the direction of the cafeteria. It was then, as all of the pupils began to whisper and glare at her, that Rachel broke down. The tears began to flow and she hurried away as quickly as possible. She couldn't even tell where she was going from the tears that blurred her vision, but she just wanted to get away. Get away from everyone and everything. As much as she hated to admit it, Quinn's words had hit home hard, and Rachel felt so alone and distraught that she couldn't quite stand it. Running past the library, her thoughts turned to the one place she felt at least somewhat happy. She hadn't visited in a while, but she doubted it would have changed very much. Slowing her pace, and rubbing the tears from her eyes, she walked briskly in the direction of the place she had spent many of her lonely lunch breaks; the auditorium.

* * *

><p>Despite how many times he'd visited the auditorium, Finn still managed to get lost. He blamed Quinn for disrupting him on his journey, causing him to walk in a different direction than he should have done. He paced the halls erratically as he tried to find the sanctuary of the auditorium. It was hard enough when he knew where he was, but seeing as he had no memory of the hall he was currently occupying, he had literally no clue as to where he needed to go.<p>

It was ten minutes before Finn found a hallway that looked partially familiar. At this point, his memory sparked and he rushed in the direction he knew he had to go. As he grew closer to the auditorium, a strange feeling bubbled up inside him. It was a familiar feeling; a feeling of warmth that he often felt when he read the diary. He couldn't help but smile as he thought about it, slowing his pace as his eyes locked onto the doors of the auditorium at the end of the hall. The hall was empty, as it had always been when he came down during lunch, so he was used to eerie silence as he walked the hall; however today, as he approached the doors, a faint sound seemed to emerge from around him. The sound was muffled, but it became clearer and grew in volume the closer he got to the auditorium. Pressing his ear right to the door, he could define the sound as someone singing. A _girl _singing. His heart did back flips inside his chest and it took every ounce of his strength to prevent him from leaping with joy. He waited a minute, before subtly opening the door and stepping in.

Usually Finn was met with a pitch black and completely empty auditorium whenever he had visited, but not today. Instead, his eyes fell on a brightly lit stage and a person; a girl; standing there and singing her heart out. He didn't recognise the song, but the lyrics were powerful and almost overwhelming. The first thing Finn registered was how beautiful she sounded. Her voice was soft and angelic, while simultaneously being powerful and commanding. The sound poured through his ears and seemed to touch every fibre in his body. He clutched at his heart as it beat hard in his chest. He was frozen in his spot by the door, unable to move for fear of disrupting her. He was suddenly very nervous and every previous thought seemed to drift from his body. It was then that she belt out the last note, and Finn could literally feel himself shiver at how powerful it was. Was this the _diary girl _he'd been so feverishly searching for? _It has to be..._

* * *

><p>Rachel entered the auditorium quickly, rushing down the steps to the stage she'd come to know so well, yet hadn't sung on for so long. <em>Too long <em>she thought as she settled her books on one of the seats and ran to the switch box that controlled the stage lights. She quickly turned on the main set that illuminated the whole stage before taking her place at centre-stage, glancing up at the seats in front, most of which were hardly visible due to the bright lights in front of her. She wiped the few stray tears from her eyes, before taking a deep breath and closing them. She cleared her throat, thinking of the right song, before beginning the opening bars.

_Don't tell me not to live, just sit and putter. Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter. Don't bring around a cloud to rain on my parade..._

The sound poured from her with ease, and all the emotion and tension she'd ever felt took hold and echoed in her song. The loss of her diary, the humiliation of the slushie attacks, the loneliness and low self-esteem from Quinn's lecture. Even the strange feeling she felt for Finn Hudson somehow made its way into her mind and therefore, into her song. All the pain and the hurt poured into the song, but at the same time a mix of pride and self-confidence filtered in, and she began to sing with more force; feeling empowered as she did so. She was Rachel Berry, and she had a point to prove, as her voice penetrated the empty space around the auditorium. She was so immersed in her song, shutting her eyes so as to concentrate on the lyrics, that she didn't even register the boy that stepped through the main doors and watched her from afar...

* * *

><p>Finn didn't know what to do once she'd finished. She stood on the stage for a minute breathing heavily and looking around her. For a moment, Finn wondered if she could see him, but it was evident she hadn't yet. Then, unexpectedly, as if of their own accord, his hands started to clap erratically.<p>

Rachel started as soon as he had done so. She looked up in the direction of the sound, clutching at her pockets.

"Who's there?" she shouted into the seats, hoping to reflect some strength. "I carry a rape whistle!" she declared. Finn had to stifle a laugh, before he cleared his throat and descended the steps, his hands returning to their normal positions by his side.

Her eyes caught a glimpse of him quickly as he came into view past the bright lights. She gasped audibly as she saw him. _Him. Finn Hudson. _He stood there, at the base of the stage, looking at her in..._why's he looking at me like that?_

Finn couldn't quite believe it. From afar he'd got a basic view of her; short, brunette, and wearing a cute skirt-and-shirt combo. But up close, he actually recognised her; he knew this girl. It was the girl from the math class. The girl who'd seemed so nervous and timid when they met. ..._Rachel, wasn't it?..._Then it all clicked into place. _Of course! _It was almost as if it should have been obvious. In that moment, Finn felt an all too familiar feeling wash over him, the warmth in his chest swelling much greater than it had done in the past. Looking upon her now, he knew everything was right. All he had learnt, all that he had read in the diary. In _her _diary. He knew this girl. He knew her fears, her loves, her pet peeves. He knew her nicknames for people in school. He knew her dreams and her plans. And now, he had a face to go with this amazing person he'd become so connected too. He had to shake his head slightly to pull his gaze from her. He ascended the steps to the stage cautiously, his hands now in his pockets, staring down at his feet as he moved to stand on the stage, still some distance from her.

Rachel was still in shock; it was the only thing stopping her from launching off into a rant about privacy and talent. But as she looked up at the awkward, and obviously very nervous, Finn Hudson, Rachel couldn't quite control the way her heart beat erratically in her chest. He looked so adorable. Part of her wondered if she was dreaming, because this, Finn Hudson, alone in the auditorium, with Rachel Berry, couldn't possibly be real. She had to subtly shake her head to remind her that she was very much awake and Finn Hudson was very much standing in front of her, looking more nervous with each passing second.

She never drew away her gaze as he shuffled on his feet, scratching his neck nervously.

"Um. You sounded really good, uh, just then" he was the first to break the awkward silence, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he wished he hadn't. Rachel felt a blush rush over her cheeks as she gazed at him. She looked down at her feet quickly before he noticed; glancing up every now and then.

"Thank you" she said quietly. "Uh, I didn't mean for anyone...you know...no one usually comes here" she stammered, trying to find the right words.

"Well yeah, I know. I've kinda been coming here...a lot...um...Lately" He spoke slowly, trying to avoid the word vomit from escaping, as it all too often did. Rachel looked up at him, catching his gaze, her eyes searching his for...something.

"Oh really?" their eyes locked onto one another, both of them shining in a peculiar sort of way. "W-why's that?" she mumbled. Finn looked away again, trying not to get lost in her beautiful brown eyes. Up close he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. He didn't know why he hadn't seen it before; but under the glow of the spotlight she almost looked angelic; her deep chocolate eyes, her smooth, tanned skin, her dark brown hair that cascaded gracefully down her shoulders. And those lips; those lush pink lips that Finn felt a strange urge to lean towards.

She too, couldn't help but admire Finn as he stood there. He was tall. _Very _tall. But yet he wasn't intimidating. In fact Rachel felt like she could be safe under his gaze. Or in his arms. His strong muscular arms. He was definitely tall, dark and handsome; his amber eyes, his freckle-peppered face, the messy hair on his head that just seemed to work. She sighed lightly as she admired him. Something about this encounter seemed too good to be true, but she wasn't about to question it.

Finn was snapped back to reality as he remembered Rachel had asked him a question. He scratched the back of his neck again, trying to figure out an easy way to put this.

"I-uh- found something..." he risked a glance at her, seeing if she would catch on from there; she didn't. He cleared his throat before continuing. "...that, uh- someone lost..." he glanced up again, her gaze still firmly set at him, but her expression was soft and warm, and Finn felt some of his nerves dissipate as he breathed a sigh of relief.

That may have been a mistake as the word vomit flew out of his mouth before he knew it;

"So I found this diary a few weeks ago in the bleachers of the football field, and since then I've been trying to find whose it is. So I've been reading it to try and figure out who this person was, and building up this list of clues, like all police-investigator-style. But as hard as I tried, I couldn't find her, I knew it was a girl you see, so I almost gave up, but then I read this one entry in the diary about singing in the auditorium, and I knew that's where I'd find the owner of the diary, and so I've been coming in here, like, every day for a week to try and find her..." Finn never looked at Rachel as he spewed his outer monologue. As he finished, he took a breath and risked a glance; Rachel's face had changed, her mouth set in a perfect "O" as she stared at him. He scratched the back of his neck as his nerves got the better of him. He decided to just go for it; despite his feelings that he already had the answer.

"So...are you the girl whose diary I found?" he questioned.

It took a moment for Rachel to regain some composure. As soon as Finn had mentioned a diary, her mind clicked into place, and though she tried, she couldn't concentrate on what he was saying; instead, her mind whirled around the idea that Finn Hudson, _Finn Hudson, _had been reading her diary. This entire time, the guy she had been slowly growing attracted too, had been the one in possession of her most intricate secrets. He'd had her diary this whole time. And he had been **reading **it. The emotions mixed in her mind; part of her was furious about the breach of privacy, but another, more intimate part of her psyche felt a warmth and curiosity over the idea; he'd had her diary for weeks, and yet he hadn't divulged any of the information to anyone. He hadn't spread rumours or anything. He'd just kept it and tried to find whose it was. It made that warm feeling in her chest, grow tenfold. She realised he had stopped talking and took a deep breath.

"Oh" was all she could mutter as she gazed at him, her eyes darting between his. He looked at her curiously.

"Did you hear what I said?" he mumbled, bending his head to look closer at her; she looked spaced out, and he was starting to get concerned. She shook her head vigorously before collecting herself.

"Um, yes. Sorry. I was just-uh-what did you say?" She took a step closer to him, her expression no longer of shock but of curiosity.

"I just asked...um-are you the girl who lost her diary? Cos I have it, and I-uh"

"Yes" she interrupted. Nodding her head. "Yes, I did lose my journal a couple of weeks ago" Finn breathed a heavy sigh of relief before running a hand through his hair.

"Oh, that's awesome!" he chuckled lightly, before his eyes grew wide as the thoughts clicked into place. "Oh! Of Course, yeah" he pulled his rucksack from his back and rummaged through it, removing the pink diary from its depths. Rachel gasped as he presented it to her; in almost the same condition it had been when she had lost it. "I, uh, I did read it. But, you're secrets are all safe with me" he gave an awkward smile as he handed the book over. He felt almost sad to leave the cute little diary, but his mind was now more concerned on the girl whose diary it was; was she going to be angry, or pleased?

Rachel took the book from his hands, gazing at it affectionately. She gulped, before clutching it too her chest, squeezing her eyes shut; another warm feeling bubbling up. She almost wanted to jump for joy at the prospect of her returned diary, but Finn's presence was enough to prevent that. She took a moment before glancing back up at him as he shuffled uncomfortably on his feet.

"Oh, Finn-" she whispered. He was honestly surprised that she knew his name; not that he should've been. "Thank you" she looked up at him with a look of adoration in her eyes. It made Finn's heart practically polevault through his chest as he gulped, pulling another awkward half-smile.

There were a couple of beats before Rachel let go of any inhibitions and launched herself at the tall boy standing in front of her. Finn almost fell back as Rachel wrapped her arms around him, but he managed to regain his footing before he tentatively placed his hands on her back. When she remained steadfastly clutched to him, her hands around his waist; head buried in his chest, he pulled his arms tighter, drawing her into a comfortable hug. It should have been weird, both of them knew that, but the fact that it felt so _right _was enough to outweigh the awkwardness. Rachel's inclinations had been right; she _did _feel safe in Finn's arms, and he was simply intoxicated by the sweet smell wafting from Rachel's hair.

"Thank you Finn" Rachel murmured into his chest. She reluctantly let him go, keeping her body much closer to his as she wiped down her skirt. "It means a lot to me that you bought her back to me" she mumbled, looking down at the diary in her hands.

"Barbara" Finn said, causing Rachel to look up in shock. He smirked. "I told you I read it" She gaped a little, glancing from the book and then back up to Finn. At this point, the nervousness and awkward feelings that should have been evident had all but disappeared, and both Finn and Rachel suddenly felt the tension between them evaporate, and a comfortable aura surrounded them.

"Did you read...all of it?" Rachel asked tentatively. Finn's smirk dropped and he glanced around anxiously.

"Um, well not all of it" he mumbled. "But a fair bit of it...yeah" he shrugged a little. "I'm sorry" he tried, stuffing his hands back in his pockets.

"Don't be" Rachel insisted, clutching the diary to her chest. "I'm...sort of glad you read it. Otherwise I never would have got it back" she sighed at the thought. Finn chuckled lightly.

"Yeah. I guess you're right" Finn took a moment, his thoughts gathering a sentence, before he took a breath and just let it out. "I really liked the girl I read about" It had been a line he'd been playing over in his head whenever he imagined this very scenario. In some cases, it was him trying to flirt with the _diary girl_; in others, it was just him trying to make sure she didn't seem pissed at him. But here and now, with Rachel, he wasn't quite sure which reason was behind it. He smiled at Rachel, whose reaction was not as he had expected; she blushed profusely, turning her attention to her feet. She paused for a moment, before looking back up at him.

"Really?" she asked, her eyes glistening and full of an adoration that Finn had never seen before.

All at once, the familiar warmth inside of him let loose and completely overtook his body. He didn't know what this feeling was, but at that moment, he couldn't care. He liked the feeling too much to question it. He smiled at Rachel, who smiled back.

"Of course Rachel" Rachel was startled. _He remembers my name? _Her body, too, filled with an all-too familiar warmth. She couldn't quite believe what was going on in that moment; Finn Hudson, quarterback, and Mr. Popular, was standing in the auditorium, handing her back her diary, which he'd read and kept secret, and telling her he liked what he read. She tried not to jump to conclusions, but reading between the lines, she wondered if he meant he _liked _liked what he read. She sighed before he spoke again, doing that adorable thing where he rubbed the back of his neck. "I, just uh-I hope you don't mind. I know diaries are supposed to be secret and stuff-" Rachel stopped him as she laid a hand on his arm.

"No, Finn. It's fine" she smiled at him as he gazed between her eyes and her hand on his arm. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Besides. You weren't to know" It was then that it struck her; her eyes grew wide, and she stared up at Finn in shock; she gasped before slapping a hand to her mouth and taking a step back.

"What?" Finn asked, suddenly anxious because of Rachel's reactions. He looked around him frantically, expecting to see some kind of alien or monster behind him. "What is it Rachel?" he held up his hands in defence, assuming it was something he did when his alien or monster theory turned out false.

"You read my diary..." she all but whispered, her eyes staring off into the distance. Finn was taken aback.

"Um, yeah. I just told you that" he scratched his head. "Rachel, are you alright? Do you need to sit down, or a drink or something?" he tentatively approached her as she stood rooted to the spot. She shot a look at Finn then, causing him to freeze. She mumbled something unintelligible, before burying her face in her hands. Finn could just hear her beginning to mumble "Oh god" into her hands, as he approached. "Hey, Rach, come on" the nickname fell from his lips with ease, and he liked the way it sounded; Rachel didn't seem to notice. He reached for her hands to pull them away from her face.

"Rachel?" she looked up at him then, her face flushed deep red, and her eyes a little misty.

"I'm so embarrassed" she said, before putting her face back into her hands. Finn sighed.

"You don't need to be. I'm not going to make fun of you for anything in that diary" he pointed to the diary that had now found a place on the stage floor.

"But the things I wrote..." she muttered, looking up from her hands.

"Like what?" Finn questioned, bending his head down to her level. "What is it you're so embarrassed about?"

Rachel took a moment to gaze at him, admiring him in all his adorable boy-ish glory, before she swallowed hard.

"The things I wrote about...you" she mumbled. There was a beat of silence, before Finn stood up to his full height again, rubbing his hands together. He laughed awkwardly.

"Oh that" he looked around him, trying to figure out what to say next. "Well if it's any help, I'm flattered" He shrugged. "Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome and all that" he smirked. Rachel laughed a little then, which suddenly felt like a great relief; she couldn't remember the last time she laughed with someone other than her dads. "And I don't blame you, it's kind of true" he nudged her a little, laughing even harder at her response; shoving him playfully in the chest before laughing aloud herself. Finn loved the sound; it was sweet and like music to his ears.

Before long they were both laughing loudly with one another, completely forgetting where they were. It was blissful. The tone turned more serious, though, once they'd laughed themselves out. Finn sighed.

"So, is it true?" he questioned. "Do you-uh..." It was a question Finn really wanted to know the answer to; now that he'd found her, Finn felt all his inhibitions go out the window, and he now just wanted to take this girl out and get to know her...get to know her, _in real life. _"Do you...like...me?" It felt stupid saying it, but Finn was curious, and once he set his mind on something, there was no turning him off of it.

Rachel blushed profusely again, sure that her face would be stained pink before long. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. She'd be lying if she were to say 'no' to Finn; she'd slowly been gaining quite the crush on him, and now, after this encounter, the crush had developed into something a little more...intense. Even her infatuation with Jesse hadn't reached that level. She glanced at him, his eyes full of curiosity and patience. She smiled at him; a smile she was sure was unlike any smile she'd ever used. _A Finn-only smile_, she thought. She nodded tentatively, before glancing back down at her feet, missing the giant grin that spread across Finn's face. He cleared his throat to get her attention. Then, with as much self-bravado as he could muster, he went all in;

"Well, uh. How would you like it if I-uh-take you out for dinner or something? Or bowling? I always liked bowling!" his face lit up in excitement as Rachel shuffled nervously on her feet.

"Um. Ok. That-uh-that sounds good. I've never been bowling before" she smiled genuinely at the excitement on his face.

"Really? Ah, well you'll love it! It's awesome!" He seemed to bounce on his feet at the prospect. He grinned at her, an expression of pure glee spread all over it; Rachel reciprocated the gesture, sure that her face would break with the smile that was gracing it.

"So will this be like, uh, a date?" Rachel asked nervously, watching Finn's expression closely. His grin faltered a little before he replied.

"If you want it to be?" he raised his eyebrows, as if to punctuate the question. Rachel took a moment, thinking over everything in her head. She soon deducted that **this**, Finn Hudson asking her out on a date, was too much of an opportunity to throw away. She smiled again and nodded gently. Finn's grin returned as he reached forward and pulled her into a hug. Rachel startled a little, but let herself sink into the embrace, getting far too used to the feeling of being held in Finn's arms. Equally, Finn was far too fond of Rachel's body wrapped in his hug.

There was a comfortable silence as both of the teens held each other. They both raised their heads a little as they pulled apart. The room permeated with the affection pouring from each of them; Rachel gazing adoringly at the boy in front of her, and Finn looking at this girl who on one hand, he barely knew, yet on the other hand, he knew so well. And now that he'd found her, he couldn't fight the adoration and affection that bubbled up inside him as he gazed at her.  
>They remained like that for a moment; gazing into one another's eyes, as if to silently communicate the feelings they were both experiencing. It was then that Rachel caught onto where exactly Finn was gazing at; his eyes seemed fixed on her lips. She swallowed, before speaking;<p>

"You know, you can kiss me if you want to" she kept her gaze firmly fixed on his. He took a breath.

"I want to" He leant in towards her, the warm feeling that had become so familiar, guiding him as he did so. Their lips connected in a soft, sweet kiss as Finn tried to convey the odd feeling he had in his chest. Rachel, too, just let her body take over as she reciprocated the kiss, pouring out the adulation she'd built inside. All too quickly, in her opinion, Finn pulled back to look into her eyes, seemingly asking for permission to continue. The gaze she returned back to him gave him all the permission needed, allowing him to return his lips to hers, kissing more passionately and for longer. Rachel's arms found their way round his neck, subtly pulling him closer.

It was all going so well until Finn felt a rather familiar, and completely unwelcomes feeling bubble up in his nether regions. Summoning the mailman, he had to force himself away from Rachel's all-too-willing lips. As he pulled back, her face contorted into one of confusion, and slight offense. She wondered why he'd suddenly stopped. Had she done something wrong? Finn sighed, still with a grip on Rachel's waist, trying to figure out what exactly to say without conveying too much. He didn't want to embarrass her already. He chuckled.

"Come on. We'll be late for class" he nodded towards the stage doors and smiled at her; a genuine Finn-Hudson-half-grin smile. She smiled back, practically bouncing as she left his grasp and went to fetch her stuff from the auditorium seats. Finn followed her, picking up the diary on his way out. He looked at it and smiled to himself. The diary that he'd grown so close to, had now produced a real girl for him to adore. It was only Rachel's voice that pulled him back to reality.

"Come on then, Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome" she joked, her books in her hands. He trotted towards her, carrying the diary in one hand. They ascended the stairs together, both shooting each other subtle grins and gazes. It was as they reached the auditorium doors and they both stepped out into the hallway that Finn's hand mysteriously found itself latching onto hers. Rachel looked down at their intertwined fingers, and then back up at Finn's smiling face.

A thought crossed her mind then; she was glad she had lost her diary on that fateful day all those weeks ago; the loss of her diary had led her to this adorkable boy that was suddenly interested in her.

And Finn, also, was glad his curiosity had got the better of him that day during practice; drawing him to the bleachers and subsequently, the misplaced diary of Rachel Berry.

* * *

><p><strong>P.S. <strong>_So there we are. Our two favourite adventurer's have found one another. Do you think it was a worthy meeting? Do you think the emotions were conveyed well enough? Or too much? I'd love to hear your opinions. Personally, I'm very happy with it; my only issue being whether it was too soon for them to kiss. Can people grow that attched together within that short amount of time? What do you think?_

_Last chapter may be some time, but it's just an epilogue, so all the good stuff has gone. Thanks again!_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Note: **I want to say; it's been awesome writing this fic, and getting all your reviews. I've loved each and every one and I'm sad to see this story end._

_But here it is; the epilogue to Dear Diary. I will warn you; it's all fluff really. So enjoy!_

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><p><em>Friday 18<em>_th__ June_

_Dear Barbara,_

_You'll never guess what's been going on Barbara! Oh, where do I begin!_

_Firstly, I should confess, that I accidentally misplaced you – I know! I must apologise! It was entirely unintentional – It seemed I had lost you somewhere on school grounds; I think it must have been somewhere on the school bleachers that day when Barbie was being particularly mean to me. (Which I remembered to be around May 19__th__) I fretted for days afterwards; frantically trying to find you. But alas, it was no use; after spending days hopelessly trying to locate you, and crying over your loss, I had all but given up hope that I would ever see you again._

_But little did I know, someone __**had **__found you. And that someone happened to be...wait for it...Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome! I know! How coincidental could you get! Anyone would think this was a hastily written drama of some sort! All this time, while I was fretting and crying, it seems Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome had you in his possession; having found it the very same day I lost it! But what was really amazing, something that fills me with glee every time I think about it is that he kept you a complete secret! He found you, and didn't tell a soul (well not really), and spent over a month trying to find me, to return you to me! I can't help but squeal inside, at the romanticism of it all._

_Of course, you're probably wondering how I know this, and how exactly I actually got you back in the first place, aren't you? Well I'll divulge the information; seeing as I have you back now, and Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome should no longer be reading the entries I put in here. But...he came and found me! That's right! He spent over a month trying to figure out who you belonged to. He read through a lot of the entries (which in hindsight, I should be angry about, but I really can't find the heart to be so) and built up this list of clues that I'd inadvertently left written within your pages, and then using that, he tried to track me down, like some sort of detective. And he did! He found me after he'd learnt about my hobby of singing in the auditorium. And that's what brings us to the present; it was today that he came and found me, and returned you too me. I'd been singing in the auditorium after getting a throttling from Barbie, and he found me! I'm at home now, but this afternoon...thinking about it, I can't quite believe what actually happened; He came to the auditorium at lunch; he watched me sing; he returned you too me; he spoke to me as a normal human being; he hugged me!; He ASKED ME OUT! And...HE KISSED ME!_

_Oh my god, Barbara, it was unlike anything I've ever experienced. He was a little nervous at first, I think; it was short and sweet and he pulled back after a short while. And then he gazed into my eyes with his own...I must have looked like I was on drugs or something, because I certainly felt like it. But somehow, I must have conveyed to him that I wanted him to carry on, because then he kissed me more passionately; not roughly, just with more eagerness and more...care. Like he was trying to tell me something. It was beautiful. I've ever experienced anything like it. And I probably never will. And what was even nicer, was that he held my hand afterwards! We walked up the stairs of the auditorium, and out into the corridor, and he held my hand! Albeit, he let go when we got to class, but I can understand his tentativeness; he'd just broken up with Barbie, so it wasn't like he was going to leap at the chance to be with me. But to think he actually __**wants **__to be with me, is something that makes my head spin._

_To be honest Barbara, I'm still trying to process it all. The auditorium. The kiss. The hand holding. I know I sound like a drama queen, but I just can't help feeling this is all some sort of elaborate dream. It's all too good to be true._

_Is this real Barbara? Did Quarterback, Finn Hudson, Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome, REALLY kiss me and ask me to go bowling with him?_

_I really don't know. But after having spoken to him today I feel like I could really feel comfortable with him. His eyes are soft, his kisses are gentle but loving, and he seems so kind and caring...and his hugs make me feel safe. I think my crush is developing into something more..._

_To be honest Barbara, I'm so glad I lost you; because I never would have found my Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome._

_Now, I'm sorry to leave you like this, but I must dash; I've got to pick an outfit to go bowling this weekend._

_Night XXX_

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><p><em>Saturday 19<em>_th__ June_

_Dear Barbara,_

_Oh my god, bowling was amazing!_

_I've never been bowling you see, so it was an entirely new experience for me, but having Finn there was something that made that new challenge seem a lot less daunting.  
>I wasn't very good to begin with, but how can you blame me? I've never even touched a bowling ball before! (And I have to admit, the concerns over ball sharing and diseases were rife within my mind nearly the entire time I was there. That was, when I wasn't getting distracted by Finn)<em>

_You know, I really shouldn't be falling so hard for him, but the more time we spend together, the more time I want us to spend time together. He's so much nicer than anyone I've ever met, and he has this 'adorkable' quality about him that makes him just so damn cute! And the fact he practically knows everything about me already, means we can have really decent conversations with one another. I should be angry at him having read my diary, but I'm really not; I'm glad he did. Else he never would have found me, and we never would have found each other._

_By the end of the session, I'd managed to score at least a strike. And of course, the excitement got the better of me and I may or may not have jumped into his arms rather unceremoniously. However, he seemed to take it in his stride, and I enjoyed the hug time. I won't mention the kiss I may also have given him at that time, having got overwhelmed by the mixing emotions inside my head..._

_Ok. I'm afraid I must run Barbara, Finn said he'd text me tonight, and I'm anxiously waiting for him to do so._

_Night XXX_

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><p><em>Monday 21<em>_st__ June_

_Dear Barbara, _

_I'm beginning to think Finn and I have made some sort of connection. We've become so close over a matter of days, and I've fallen for him so badly. And part of me is beginning to think he may be falling for me too. And I can't say that I'm not pleased about it._

_Although I don't attend any classes with him, today, Finn insisted that he and I have lunch together in the auditorium. We spoke about everything and anything. My veganism. His love of football. My singing abilities. His drumming skills. It was lovely. I only wish it could have lasted longer. I feel I can be myself with him; he doesn't judge me or criticise me. He seems to support me in everything. I've never had a friend like Finn before. A friend that makes me feel warm inside. That makes me giddy with glee. He's so sweet, it's unreal. How anyone could be so mean to Finn, I really don't know. Speaking of mean; Finn has yet to mention Quinn Fabray; he doesn't mention her when we talk, and I don't think he's spoken to her about me either. I don't know whether he's going to tell her about us, or whether he's going to let rumour and the rest of the student body do that, but whichever way, I'm more than a little concerned for my own safety. She was bad enough having knocked her over; I don't particularly like the idea of seeing how she reacts to being told her ex-boyfriend is currently dating the girl she's called 'ugly' for the last 2 years. I'm hoping Finn will protect me...he likes to do that._

_But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I think now, I just like spending time with Finn. He makes me happy in a way I've never felt before. I feel safe with him. And I feel I can tell him anything. I want us to be together. It's just up to him to ask me..._

_Night XXX_

* * *

><p><em>Tuesday 29<em>_th__ June_

_Dear Barbara,_

_RACHEL BARBRA BERRY IS OFFICIALLY IN A RELATIONSHIP!_

_Finn asked me out officially today. Just, out of the blue, while we were sitting in the cafeteria, he turns to me and says; "So, are you like my girlfriend?" So I said; "I don't know, are you going to ask me to be your girlfriend?" to which he gave me that all too familiar half-smirk, and said; "Ok. Rachel Berry, will you be my girlfriend?" and of course I said YES! _

_But in a very dignified manner; we were in the cafeteria after all._

_So, I'm dating Finn Hudson. You heard that right Barbara; I'm dating Finn Hudson. Finn Hudson is my boyfriend. Rachel Berry has a boyfriend. I just can't get enough of it!_

_Night XXX_

* * *

><p>Finn was still a little in awe over the events of the past month or so. The idea that he had found his current girlfriend thanks to a book, was a thought that often crossed his mind when he was sat at home; trying to find something to do that would fill the time he used to dedicate to a completely different task. He'd tried doing homework, but to no avail; he sadly missed the time he spent reading the diary. He wasn't going to complain though; having the <strong>real <strong>_diary girl _was way better than a book. But it was still a little strange; he wasn't quite sure how or why he had got so lucky.  
>It had been a few weeks since the climactic reunion of diary to diary girl, and his subsequent relationship dawning with Rachel, and Finn was beginning to revel in being in a relationship again. He'd slowly been growing close to Rachel ever since their initial meeting, and now he had actually confirmed the status of their relationship, he was pretty sure nothing could ever get any better. Back when he had the diary, he would often imagine himself falling into a romantic relationship with the mysterious <em>diary girl.<em> Little did he know how real his thoughts would be; and how much better real life would be to his imagination; even if he didn't get to move past first base.

Albeit Rachel was a lot different to Quinn; she was louder, talked a lot more, and could be intimidating at times; he still found her so much more refreshing, and a lot nicer to be around. They would talk for hours on end; or at least she would; and he would listen. And **really **listen, not just pretend to listen. It was just something he enjoyed doing. He knew almost everything about Rachel, yet he loved to hear her talk. And he loved talking to her. She was intense, sure, and he had to get used to that quickly, but when he looked past that whole 'diva' persona, Finn saw a beautiful, vulnerable little girl with big dreams and a big heart. It was all too easy, having already seen that girl within the diary.

The diary he was sure she was still writing in. However much, she refused to admit it.

* * *

><p><em>Wednesday 30<em>_th__ June_

_Dear Barbara,_

_We bumped into Barbie today. I know it should have happened a long time ago, but Finn finally got up the courage to tell her he was dating me. Turns out, she already knew. She didn't seem too angry, I must admit. Something tells me she's still messing around with the guy with the Mohawk. (Who also must know about mine and Finn's budding love, because he hasn't slushied me in weeks) She wasn't particularly accepting of me at the time, but Finn says she'll come around. I hope he's right. I really don't want to have to deal with the crazy ex-girlfriend. Finn's mine and I'm not letting him go that easy._

_Wish I could write more, but I've got to run, Finn's taking me out._

_Night XXX _

* * *

><p>"Hey Rach!" Finn called to her across the hallway; striding up to her as she stood by her locker, he nudged her playfully in the side, causing her to squeal lightly, before leaning against the adjacent locker.<p>

"Hello Finn!" She chimed, while sorting through her textbooks and planners.

"So what are you doing after school today?" He probed, nudging her a little again. She sighed.

"I don't know. What did you have planned?" She turned to look at him; recognising that familiar excited glint in his eyes. It made her giddy just looking at it. He smiled so broadly, lightly bouncing on his feet.

"Well...I thought we could go see something at the revival theatre. You know, something corny and romantic. You know...if you want" Even though they'd been dating some time, Finn was still a little unsure about how to be a good boyfriend. His previous track record was a little against him, but after confiding in Rachel, she told him he was doing just fine as he was; so he just kept doing what he thought was right. Rachel seemed to like him all the same. Even when he **did **screw up.

"Of course!" she squealed. "That sounds lovely! We'll go straight from school! I think we should go see-" he stopped her.

"Well, can we not wait a little bit? I'd like to go home and shower first..." Rachel blushed at the thought, as Finn scratched the back of his neck. "-I mean, I have football practice this afternoon, and I'm going to stink. Would you rather me go straight from school and be all sweaty and muddy while we watch the film, or would you prefer a clean and nice smelling Finn to sit next to throughout the movie?" he joked. The thought made Rachel's nose wrinkle up. She nodded.

"Good point Finn. Ok. You can pick me up at 6pm. I'll be waiting" she reached up and pecked his cheek lightly. She was about to turn on her heels and leave, when the stuttering form of Jacob Ben Israel stopped her in her tracks, as he came up to the both of them, holding a microphone in one hand. Behind him stood one of the kids from the A/V Club holding a small camera. Jacob turned towards the kid in front of the couple and began speaking in his trademark nasally tone.

"Hello blogosphere! Jacob Ben Israel here on McKinley: Behind the Scenes. I'm here with Finn Hudson and Rachel Berry, collectively named 'Finchel'" He turned to face the two of them, while the cameraman moved about awkwardly in front of them. "So, how does it feel for you two to be McKinely High's new power couple and what's it like dealing with the controversy behind your Romeo and Juliet-like romance?" He thrust the microphone into Finn's face. But he just stuttered as he tried to form a coherent sentence. Fortunately, Rachel was on hand to answer, as always;

"I'll have you know, Finn and I take no interesting in being this school's 'power couple' but would rather people accept the fact that we are together and very much attracted to one another. The rest of our relationship should remain between us, now if you'll excuse me, we have a place to be" she huffed, lifting her head up high before gripping Finn's hand and dragging him down the hall.

Once they reached a safe enough distance, Finn just smiled to himself as Rachel slowed her pace; her hand still clutching tightly onto his. He could get used to this.

* * *

><p><em>Dear Barbara,<em>

_I learnt something new about Finn today...you see I had no idea Finn could sing! You should listen to him Barbara; he sounds amazing! I think I may have fallen for him even more after hearing his impromptu rendition of 'Can't Fight This Feeling'. He didn't know I was listening, but I did, and so obviously, I made him sing a duet with me. We sang 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' (My choice), and I swear, if we were to have entered some sort of singing competition, we would of totally won it; no contest. He's amazing, and our voices meld together perfectly. I will definitely be requesting more duets from him in the future. I'm sure he won't complain. Not if I compromise with some making out...Finn's too easy that way._

_Night XXX_

* * *

><p>"Oh come on Rachel! Do we have to?" Finn groaned as Rachel handed him the sheet music. She placed her hands on her hips as she faced him.<p>

"Finn, you promised we'd sing together more often!" She berated, turning to fiddle with the CD player.

"Yes, but I didn't mean every day. Plus..."he paused. "...you sound so much better on your own...my voice is kinda...you know...ordinary" she turned round to see his head bowed. Walking up to him, she placed a gentle hand on his face and smiled.

"You have a wonderful voice Finn" he smirked, not quite believing her. "And I think it sounds amazing...that's why I like us to sing together..." He looked up to meet her gaze, and recognized the adoration in her eyes.

"Really?" he questioned, placing a hand tentatively on her waist. This didn't go unnoticed.

"Of course" she licked her lips subconsciously and glanced at his. She collected herself though; removing her hand from his face and stepping away to get the music ready. "Why do you think I pick all the romantic duets?" She gave him a wink, before turning on the music.

Finn just sighed, turning to the paper and waiting to sing his opening line in time with the music; "_Baby when I met you there was peace unknown. I set out to get you with a fine tooth comb. I was soft inside there was somethin' going on..."_

He had to admit; He did like this song. And he did love Rachel's voice. So he'd sing with her as much as she wanted. Plus, she promised to make out with him afterwards...and that was always pretty hot.

* * *

><p><em>Dear Barbara,<em>

_...Barbara, I have a confession to make; I think I'm in love with Finn Hudson... _

_I'm writing this as I sit across from him on my bedroom floor...we've been going out for over a month and I can't help but feel I could spend the rest of my life with this boy._

_He looks so cute as he copies down my math notes. I love the way he looks when he's concentrating. I love the way his brow creases. I love the way his amber eyes are so stern and concentrative yet simultaneously soft and inviting. I love the way his tongue sticks out sometimes as he thinks. I love the way his muscles tense as he writes._

_I love how he looks when he's happy as well. Like now; he's looking at the notes he's just copied, with an air of pride about him. I love that goofy half-smile that he always has. I love the way his eyes glisten. I just generally love all of him._

_His eyes. His freckles. His nose. His ears. His hair. His everything._

_I think there's no doubt here Barbara...I'm hopelessly in love with Finn Hudson._

_I have to go. He's looking over at me and I know what he wants...any minute now and we'll be making out on the floor..._

* * *

><p><em>Hey Barbara!<em>

_Ok, I feel really weird writing to a book, but it's what Rachel does so..._

_Rachel's just fetching us some snacks. I found you under the bed. It's been a long time. I like what she's written though._

_And in case she reads this, Hi Rach! I found Barbara again!_

_And to respond to that last diary entry; I think he's hopelessly in love with you too! He'd list all the things he loves about you too, but there are just too many;_

_Your eyes. Your lips. Your nose. Your legs. Your hair. Your short skirts. Your...everything. See? Just too many!_

_Ok. Bye Barbara. Have a nice life...or whatever._

_F._

* * *

><p>"Finn?" Rachel aired her voice in question. He looked up from his text book to look at her.<p>

"Yeah?" He appeared nonchalant as she nervously tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"I read what you wrote" It took him some time to figure out what she was referring to. His eyes shot wide and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Oh yeah. That" He smirked at her, as she gazed at him, a small smile playing at his lips.

"Did you mean it?" she asked; her usual sturdy facade now completely vacant; this was a very raw Rachel, and he could tell. He gripped one of her hands in his own as she sat opposite him on the dining room table.

"Every word" He smiled broadly at her, and squeezed her hand slightly, as if to try and convey the message. She blushed profusely, and stared down at her hand in his. After a breath, she tilted her head back up again and smiled.

"I love you Finn" she murmured, almost too quiet for him to hear; but he did. A huge smile spread across his face. He leant forward and kissed her lips lightly. Pulling back slightly, still keeping their faces mere inches away from one another, he whispered.

"I love you too Rachel" It was her turn to beam. And she couldn't help but connect their lips together again.

They were only broken apart by the loud and obvious clearing of her dad's throat.

* * *

><p><em><strong>P.S.<strong> And that's it. That's the end of this piece of Finchel fanficiton. I could have carried on writing the fluff forever, but I really had to rein it in. I'm kinda sad to see it end, but on a different level, I'm happy to finish this up so I can concentrate on other projects._

_I want to take this moment to thank everyone who stuck by this little diddy and kept reading. To everyone who reviewed, favourite, alerted and all that palaver; thank you so much! I love knowing you all enjoy my writing as much as I do! It really has inspired me, and I will totally be writing morei n the future!_

_I also want to thank the finchel-prompts Tumblr for providing me with a base to write this story; if it wasn't for them I never would have created this story. I would have given them the link, but they stopped posting filled prompts, so I'll just have to hope they see this and see my thanks._

_Also, I hope all of those who read this fic will stick around; there's sure to be more Finchel fics in my head, just waiting to be released unto the world. So stay tuned!_

**_Cheers!_**


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